We've all been hurt. We all have scars. And through a relationship with Jesus Christ,
we can all overcome and we can all be healed. Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton.
Hey everybody, welcome back to this sanctuary. You know, in preparing for this week, I was
doing some reflection and I thought of something that really, it's just, it stuck with me over
the years. You see, a number of years ago, while I was doing my seminary school, I was
doing an internship at a church. And this is a church I served for many years. Now,
you all know I am not a fan of prosperity preachers, not at all. However, at this time,
the pastor of the church invited Jesse Duplantis to come out and visit. As a matter of fact,
he came out not once, not twice, but a few times. He'd come out once a year for quite
a while leading up to COVID. And during one of his visits, he said something that hit
me as profound. You know, even though it came out of his mouth, it was the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit yelled out, you know, do you have a relationship with Jesus or do you just
know about him? Do you have a relationship with God or do you just know about him? There
is a difference. And he'd go on to say that it takes great faith to read Jesus' teaching,
let alone believe it. And this reminds me of something. How do you get to know Jesus?
You know, this is something we talk about all the time. You know, we preach about having
a relationship with him. And it's a constant, you know, any church that you go to. But just
how do you do it? So I'm going to go through a few bullet points today. And the first one
is exactly that. How do you get to know Jesus? So we all need to realize that we don't just
know everything right at the gate. It would, you know, it sure would be nice if we did,
but the fact is we don't. We have to learn. We have to be taught. And that's with anything
in life. God knows this. And he's taught us in various ways. And by us, you know, I mean
humankind, you know, over the centuries. Jesus did the same. Jesus has a great example. He
would use parables. For example, take the prodigal son, right? He would ask a question
and then he would lead listeners toward the answer. For example, in Matthew 16, verse
26, which states, what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit
their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? You know, questions like this,
it really makes the brain go into overdrive. Just thinking about it, how to, you know,
I'm trying to get to that answer. You know, how about teaching by example? Jesus didn't
just tell us to do as he said. He showed us how. Take for example, if you would turn with
me to John chapter 13. In John chapter 13, verses 3 through 7, the Bible says, Jesus
knew that the Father had put all things under his power and that he had come from God and
was returning to God. So, he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped
a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples
feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said
to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus replied, you do not realize now what
I am doing, but later you will understand. How powerful is this example? Jesus, here
he is, he's washing the disciples feet. This is something that by that culture and the
society norms of the day was beneath his status. This is something that a servant should have
been doing. Yet, here he is and he's cleaning the dirt, the mud, the muck, the feces that
covered the common roads and the paths of those times because of all the people who
went through the livestock and all the other signs of life and wealth and everything that
took those paths every day back then. So, he was leading by example. It's like any
other subject that you learn in life, whether it's something in school, your math through
history, language arts, all that stuff, or if it's a skill like riding a bicycle or cooking
or even a trade that will help you, provide you with a job and everything. These are all
things that you have to learn, which is my second bullet point, we learn. How do we learn?
Would you consider yourself a good student just because you read the Bible? After all,
it is the most important thing that you're ever going to read. I'll put it to you like
this. Do you learn everything you need by just reading a textbook? Do you learn everything
you need about driving just by looking at different vehicles? Like, ah, I'm going to
learn everything I need by looking at different vehicles? Like, ah, motorcycle, truck, school
bus, you know? Do you absorb it that way? How about this? Can you perform an operation
on a patient because, say, one of your parents is a medical doctor or are you an expert on
something because you watch the video on YouTube? No, of course not. None of this are. Even
if the Facebook lawyers like to say otherwise, you know, oh, I saw this on Facebook, it must
be true. No. We all have to have instruction. But you have to start to work in applying
the instruction you're given. It doesn't do you a whole lot of good to read something
if you don't apply it. So it starts by reading. When it comes to the Bible, it starts by reading
and hearing the word. So you become familiar with it. And then you have to break it down
even further. Something that you hear me do very often when we go into various books.
You know, who was the writer? Who was the intended audience? You know, what area was
it in? What was happening? You know, or when was it? And how does it apply to me today?
You know, what's the context? Context is so important. And to study the Bible, you have
to get into it. You have to really dig in. You know, when we say study, not just me,
but you know, any anybody, you know, they say study the Bible, they need to study the
Bible. You have to take steps to truly understand what you're looking at. You can't just pick
up a book and fill in answers, you know, with a workbook or whatever. It comes to Bible
studies with various groups. It's one thing I've absolutely hated. They're like, oh, here's
a textbook you're going to pay for. Oh, but don't worry if you miss an answer because
it's all filled in blank. You can find the answer in the back of the book. You can just
scribble it in. No, that's not studying. That's just waiting and looking for keywords. You
can't just show up to a group. You have to participate. You need to write things down.
You need to keep a journal. Or if you like charting, try charting. You could chart out
to who, what, when, where, when, you know, and not only that, if you were, for those
of you who like graphing and charts and all that kind of stuff, this gives you a great
visual to reflect back on later on. You know, even, you know, meditation. And by meditate,
I don't mean that empty your mind, Eastern philosophy stuff. I mean, yeah, you need to
clear your mind out, get all the world and everything out of there. However, once you've
done that, you need to fill it back up. You open it up and you fill it with God. So it's
not just this empty just doot doot doot, oh, or any of that other stuff, you know, your
mind's actually quite busy reflecting and thinking on all these different things. So
when the Bible talks about meditation, it is not talking about just sitting there and
thinking about nothing. It is talking about reflecting on His word, you know, to give
diligent and meaningful thought to the scripture. And here's the thing. While what's written
is the same every time, what we get from it changes depending on where we are and what
we need in our lives. So you can read a passage hundreds of times, come back to it time and
time again. But then one day, it just grabs you. That light goes off. And you're like,
Whoa, I never noticed this before. It speaks to you. That, that is the Holy Spirit talking
to us. When you hear that, that's the Spirit talking to you. You also have to pray on these
things. Ask for wisdom to understand the knowledge that you've been given. Because it is one
thing to have knowledge. After all, we can all read a how-to manual, but it's another
thing to fully understand it and apply it properly. You know, I've said it in the past,
the difference between book smarts and street smarts. There's the book smarts, but then
how do you apply it? Right? Keep in mind, this, this is the Word of God. This is how
we get to know Him, what He's about, what His character is, what He wants from us, how
we should serve Him. You can't expect to have a relationship with someone just because
you greeted them at the door. You think about it. You have to open that door up, let that
person in, and have conversations with them. Notice I said conversations with an S, not
a conversation. Your relationship with God is exactly the same. So how do you do that?
You pray. You don't need special words or meter or rhyme. Prayer is just taking the
time to talk to them. Talk to God like you would anyone else. Matthew chapter 6 verse
7, so Matthew 6, 7, the Bible says, and when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,
for they think they will be heard because of their many words. So you don't need to
use a hundred fathers, father God, God, Lord, Thou's or these or any of the rest of that
stuff. You just, you know, when you hear that, when people are praying and that's what they're
filling space, they're trying to figure out what to say and they're thinking, oh, this
is the way to do it because this is the proper, oh, guys, we don't speak in the King James
anymore. All right. All you need is an honest, from the heart conversation with God. Okay.
And that's it. That's what prayer is. It is a conversation with God. When you talk to
other people, do you sit there and go, hey, Joe, did you know, Joe, that we do this, Joe,
you know, no, nobody talks like that. See, you know, you watch certain TV shows or you're
like, why, man, why do they keep saying their name? I said, we know who they're talking
to. They know who they're talking to back off, you know? And so moving along here. So
remember earlier, I, you know, when I started this today, I said, it takes great faith to
read Jesus's teaching, let alone believe. It does. It takes faith, which is my third
point. Let me introduce you to another way of looking how a relationship works. You know,
you can depend on someone when you can think them in advance. For example, think of a parent
for this. I'm just going to use that. Hey, dad, I need five bucks. Thanks. All right.
As opposed to when you don't have a relationship with someone. Hey, can I borrow that pen?
May I have it? May I have a sheet of paper? Can I, you know, just to hold on to that paper
for a little bit, please? It's a different, the phrase is different because you don't
know if you're going to get that or not, as opposed to, you know, hey, dad, or hey, mom,
you know, it's a different, it's different question because the outcome is different.
So let's take a look at how this replies to a relationship with God. Well, I'll break
that down for you. Giving thanks for a blessing, or in other words, after the blessing, is
gratitude. That is gratitude. Giving thanks before a blessing, before it's even happened,
is faith. Just like that question I said, hey, can I have five bucks to add thanks?
You already know it's coming. Gratitude means that it's after the deed is done. But faith,
faith, that comes before the deed, before you've gotten anything. You trust that it
will happen. It's not a matter of if. Instead, it's a matter of when. And of course, that
when is always in the Lord's time. You see, that's the problem with a lot of people today.
They go to a church, or I should say a church service, thinking that they found this great
fix-all because the way somebody described it to them, you know, they've been sold.
So they think they found this great fix-all, but they don't have faith. They want the cure,
but they don't want to treat the affliction. They know of God, but they don't know God.
There is a difference. See, people want the quick fix that's going to get them through.
And that's why many, many of the lost, when they look at the Bible, they hear about the
Bible, they think of it as just another book. The faith isn't there. Faith comes from hearing.
See, and ignorance is not an excuse either. Much like the law of man, just because you
didn't know doesn't mean that you're going to escape punishment. In fact, it's just the
opposite. Just like the law of man, you will be punished. Just because you didn't know
or knew or didn't know doesn't matter. Leviticus chapter 5 verse 17. So Leviticus 5, 17 states,
I know usually I say the Bible says, but right here I'm going to say states because it's
very specific. If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands,
even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible. So it's
important. That's why we read our Bible. Faith comes by hearing. Right? How do we hear? By
reading. So what do we expect? So we're going into my fourth bullet point here. What to
expect? Now, I'm going to huge, sorry, I'm going to hit a huge one right out the gate
here. I'm going to hit a big shiny red button. And it is a hot topic in the Christian world.
It really is. And it is one that's commonly mistaken. And I'm going to go into some very
specifics here and I'm going to back it up with a scripture here. So hold on because
I'm going to be speaking about tongues. Now, I am not talking about that gibberish that
many people try to pass off as tongues here. Let's break it down. Acts 2, verse 4. So
Acts 2, verse 4. The Bible says, all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. So right here, what Luke is talking
about is people suddenly being able to speak in a foreign language because of the Holy
Spirit. Not some gibberish, but an actual language. Languages that they didn't know
miraculously came out like they'd known this language their entire life. It's like if I
went to Finland, started to speak to someone and all of a sudden I started speaking in
Finnish even though I'd never spoken it or studied it a day in my life. Alright. 1 Corinthians,
chapter 14. So 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, verses 21 and 22. So 1 Corinthians 14, verses
21 and 22. The Bible says, in the law it is written, with other tongues and through the
lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me,
says the Lord. So tongues then are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy
however is not for unbelievers, but for believers. Quite a bit there, right? Now this right here,
this is the missing element. This is what people either don't know or they forget about
when they bring up talking in tongues. Tongues, it's not for believers. It is for the non-believers,
right? Because faith comes from hearing. You need to be able to hear something. You need
to be able to understand something. If you don't know what someone's saying, you don't
understand the words, it needs to come to you in a way that you will hear it. So while
these people are focused on trying to hear quote unquote tongues, they're missing the
prophecy and words. They're like, oh I got this nailed down, but they don't because they're
focused on the wrong thing. I'd like to share a story. This came from a pastor friend of
mine. We're just going to call him Tex. So when Tex was growing up, his parents would
send him to this summer church group every year. On one particular year, there were a
couple of new brothers who went out and their grandpa would come with them. As it got to
the end of everything and it was closing down, this is that time when if you ever went to
these camps, especially back in the day, they'd start praying over everybody. People would
sit there and they'd pray for hours, right? The boys, they would pray and then they'd
wrap it up and they'd go to their grandpa and grandpa would tell them, hey, go back
and pray some more. This happened a few times. Finally, it got to a point where one of them
asked grandpa, hey, why do we need to keep praying like this? It's been hours. And their
grandpa told them they weren't leaving until he saw undeniable evidence that they had been
filled with the Holy Spirit. Ouch, right? So they went back to praying. A few minutes
passed and suddenly and loud enough for everyone to hear, they're speaking in tongues. Their
grandpa was so happy. We're talking cloud nine here, okay? So he picks his boys up,
says, that's it. That's what we're waiting for. Let's go home. Takes them home to their
parents. Well, a few days go by, nobody's seen these boys. Text finally sees them at
church, like, hey, where have you been? What happened? Well, it turns out they'd been
grounded. They're stuck doing chores and stuff around the house. Grandpa was so excited that
he rushed them home and then right away told their dad what had happened. Now, their dad,
who was already suspicious, asked what they had said in tongues. Their grandpa was able
to repeat part of it. You know, he didn't quite understand what they were saying. It
was very rough, but he repeated what he could. That right there was all their dad needed
to hear and it sealed the deal. Ruh-roh. What had happened was the boys and their parents
had just moved back to the U.S. from their dad's previous duty station in Japan. And
what grandpa heard them speaking was a dirty joke in Japanese that they had learned in
a couple years that they were living in Japan. So keep in mind, even though you hear something
that sounds legit, you still need to be mindful. Especially if you don't know exactly what
somebody's saying. Well, A, it's probably not for you to hear. But, two, it could just
be part of the show. Focus on yourself here, okay? When people say, hey, you need to be
speaking in tongues, that's the irrefutable. Everybody, nope. Guess what? Wrong again.
Romans 12, verses 6 through 8. So Romans 12, verses 6 through 8. The Bible says, we have
different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying,
then prophesy in accordance with your faith. If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching,
then teach. If it is to encourage, then give encouragement. If it is giving, then give
generously. If it is to lead, do it diligently. If it is to show mercy, then do it cheerfully.
Now you'll notice here, the Bible says right out the gate here that we have different gifts.
It's not the same gift given to everyone. So don't be fooled when someone comes around
and says, you have to have a gift of tongues if you're saved because that's not biblical.
You just saw it right here in Romans 12, 6 through 8. Matter of fact, you could even
guide them to this. We all have different gifts. I play bass. Not everybody plays bass.
I ride a motorcycle. Not everybody can ride a motorcycle. Some people are pilots. I can't
do that. Some people speak several languages. I speak pretty bad American English. You know,
we all have different gifts. Nurses, doctors, policemen, taxi drivers, janitors, we all
have different vocations. Those are all gifts themselves. We all have different things that
we can and cannot do. We all have different understandings of things. All right? So turn
with me now to John chapter 14. So in John chapter 14 verses 16 through 21, the Bible
says, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and
be with you forever, the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither
sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see
me anymore, but you will see me, because I live, you also will live. On that day, you
will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my
commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. The Bible is teaching us that
when the spirit is within us, we know he's there, because he convicts us of our sins.
Now, this in itself can be very sobering, very sobering moment, but on the flip side
of that, because we are able to speak to him when we are attacked by Satan and his lies
and troubles that we have in life, he's able to bring us great comfort. Those sudden
convictions or comforts are the same reason you see some people break down crying in a
church service, or while they are praying, or while someone is praying over them. It's
because the Holy Spirit is speaking to them. If you've never felt it, I can tell you from
my own experience that this comfort is real. At a time when I was surrounded by chaos,
scared, confused, that comfort that is beyond our understanding, that was how I knew the
Holy Spirit was with me. A time when I should have been falling apart, but instead I felt
this comforting warmth, and I knew things were going to work out. I knew things were
going to be alright, and that God was there with me and looking out for me. You see, I
knew this, and so can you. So can you. Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 through 7. So,
Philippians 4, verses 6 through 7. The Bible says, Do not be anxious about anything, but
in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to
God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus. You see, it's one of God's many promises, and you find it
when you're in relationship with Him, through faith and through prayer. So start working
on that relationship today. And if you already have a relationship with Him, then keep working
on it. That's the difference. Remember, do you have a relationship, or do you just know
of Him? Work on that relationship today. As always, if you have questions, you have concerns,
send me a message, let me know. And if there's something else that you'd like to hear us
speak about, or if there's something I can go into more detail on, reach out with that
as well. Of course, you can reach out on Facebook at Be The Light Sanctuary, or you can go to
our website as well, at BeTheLightSanctuary.org. Take care, catch y'all next time. God bless.
Thank you for tuning in to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. If you would like to know more
about our ministry, or how you can support us, you can find us on Facebook at Be The Light
Sanctuary, or you can go to our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org. Thanks again for
tuning in, and we'll catch you next time. God bless.