1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,720 Hello and welcome back to the PHSA podcast. 2 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:11,720 My name is David Bigford. 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:13,580 I'm the pastor here at SalmonArm. 4 00:00:13,580 --> 00:00:17,760 This is a very special podcast series where I'm going to be sharing with you messages 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:23,280 from our most recent conference in Prescott, Arizona, the Beyond Limits Conference with 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:30,600 a theme of to preach the gospel in the regions beyond from 2 Corinthians 10-16. 7 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:37,000 I'm going to share all of the sermons from this conference series to include Greg Mitchell, 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:44,600 our head pastor, Joe Campbell, Richard Ruby, Tom Payne, and many, many others during this 9 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:45,600 series. 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,280 So I'll be sharing these with you over the next couple of weeks. 11 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:51,040 And I hope you really enjoy these messages. 12 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:58,000 If you'd like to see these messages in a video format, you can go to PrescottPottersHouse.com 13 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:04,360 where all of these will be available for you to view in a video format. 14 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,280 So without further ado, I'm going to pass. 15 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:10,160 I'm going to go ahead and move on to the messages and I hope you enjoy them. 16 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:11,160 God bless. 17 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,400 Only your mama could love you. 18 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:16,520 Don't worry. 19 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:21,600 God says He makes all things beautiful in their time. 20 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,160 So I want to appreciate every single one of you. 21 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,560 I just reflecting about conference. 22 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,160 I don't ever take conference for granted, but coming to conference for a long, long 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:41,360 time and I just marvel at the tapestry of personalities that we have. 24 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:47,720 And I thank God for every single one of you and the contribution you make. 25 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:54,060 Really do appreciate all of our brothers and sisters from across the world and anybody 26 00:01:54,060 --> 00:01:58,720 that's overseas looking on live stream. 27 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:00,960 We thank God for you and your fellowship. 28 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,120 I'm ministering out of John chapter two. 29 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:17,360 My title is purposefully selected and you've probably heard this text preached on numbers 30 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:19,640 of times. 31 00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:26,520 My title of my sermon is saving the best wine to last. 32 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:34,440 And I want to introduce my sermon by sharing with you that my wife and I just celebrated 33 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:42,960 our 50th anniversary. 34 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:53,960 So Mark Olson did what any sensible man married to Michelle Olson would do. 35 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:59,360 I took her to France and yeah, yep, I did. 36 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:15,400 Took her to France and I wind her grape juice and dined her and I assiduously worked on 37 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:20,560 getting her to commit to another 50 years. 38 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:30,240 The good news is she not only agreed to 50 more but she gave me a renewed assurance that 39 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,240 it was a lifetime guarantee. 40 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:46,620 Now I rejoice in that assurance but I'm not taking it for granted. 41 00:03:46,620 --> 00:03:56,280 The actual genesis for this sermon was a seed planted probably six, seven years ago during 42 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:57,640 a Christmas banquet. 43 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:04,360 We every year meet in Chandler and the Chandler Church hosts all the pastors in the valley 44 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:09,160 and a Christmas appreciation banquet. 45 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:14,200 Pastor Campbell oftentimes will exhort a little bit. 46 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,960 And I'll never forget the subject matter. 47 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:29,080 He mentioned, I just want to say a word concerning the crisis that's looming that we're facing 48 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:38,320 or going to be facing in our fellowship and that is our older pastors and our older couples' 49 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,600 marriages. 50 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:43,280 He said we have six couples. 51 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:47,720 He was talking from his experience at the time. 52 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:52,280 He said we have six couples that I can think of immediately. 53 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:54,560 Three of them are in the ministry. 54 00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:00,960 Three of them have been in various fellowship churches for decades. 55 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:16,080 And he said all of these marriages have a similar symptom and that is that they've all 56 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:21,120 reached a new stage of empty nesters. 57 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:27,400 And the common denominator is that either one or the other or both looked around when 58 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:37,160 the kids moved out and now they've had they've attained that status of being empty nesters. 59 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:44,040 And as they look at the person that they have been yoked with, supposedly yoked with for 60 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:56,720 30, 40 years, either the wife or the husband said, I don't like you. 61 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:00,480 I'm not spending the rest of my life with you. 62 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,800 Or I don't know you. 63 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:06,760 Who are you? 64 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,800 I don't even want to comment that I see some heads bobbing. 65 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:18,520 I don't want to narc you out, but I really do feel, folks, that God put this on my heart 66 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:20,360 to minister. 67 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:31,920 So I know that I'm going to be hitting some tender nerves and the thought of coming into 68 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:42,840 a new chapter of your life and new season and saying, no, I'm not digging this. 69 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:50,480 I'm not wanting to spend the rest of my life with this person. 70 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,040 And I have options. 71 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,720 I'm out of here. 72 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:04,120 So as I've kept that warning, I have some observations and some suggestions to make 73 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:13,320 that hopefully will head off some people that are kind of barreling down that pathway to 74 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:20,120 that cliff that you're possibly going to go off sometime in the near future. 75 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:26,800 My aim is to prevent you from becoming another tragic statistic. 76 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:37,080 And so I heartily want to ask everybody, let's go to God and let's ask the author and the 77 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:38,800 helper of our marriages. 78 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:40,400 Let's ask him for insight. 79 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,080 Let's ask him for help. 80 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:51,320 God, even before I read this text, we pause and we are definitely humbling ourselves under 81 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:52,600 the mighty hand of God. 82 00:07:52,600 --> 00:08:01,520 We're asking you to intervene and possibly God stage some spiritual interventions. 83 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:02,520 God help us. 84 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:03,840 God, we want to serve. 85 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:04,840 We want to please you. 86 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:06,240 We want to go to heaven. 87 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,600 God, we want the best that's possible. 88 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:10,320 We want to sell for the mediocre. 89 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:13,900 We don't want to just do enough to get by. 90 00:08:13,900 --> 00:08:19,800 But God, we know we need your help, especially in the perilous times that we live in. 91 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:27,360 We know that if we're in the ministry, that we have a target writ large over our lives, 92 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:28,720 over our ministry. 93 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,720 We ask for supernatural help in Jesus' precious name. 94 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,280 God's people say. 95 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:40,440 John chapter two, verse one, in the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. 96 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:46,060 The mother of Jesus was there and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. 97 00:08:46,060 --> 00:08:51,720 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, they have no wine. 98 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:58,760 And Jesus saith unto her, woman, what have I to do with thee, mine hour? 99 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:00,600 Let me just stop. 100 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:06,480 My appointed time is not yet come. 101 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:13,040 His mother said to the servants, whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 102 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:21,800 Now notice something that immediately changed the equation, that immediately triggered Jesus' 103 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:23,480 time. 104 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,520 And there were set there six waterpots of stone after the manner of the purifying of 105 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,960 the Jews containing two or three firkins. 106 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:35,520 One firkin is about nine gallons, two or three firkins apiece. 107 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:37,760 There were six of them. 108 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,600 Jesus said to them, fill the waterpots with water and they filled them up to the brim 109 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,760 and he saith unto them, draw out now and bear unto the governor of the feast. 110 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:47,760 And they bear it. 111 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,880 And when the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and knew not 112 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:57,840 whence it was, but the servants which drew the water they knew, the governor of the feast 113 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,160 called the bridegroom and he saith unto them, every man at the beginning does set forth 114 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:03,720 good wine. 115 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:08,400 And when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. 116 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:14,880 But you, you have kept the good wine until now. 117 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:21,240 This beginning of miracles did Jesus and King of Galilee and manifested forth his glory 118 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:27,840 and his disciples believed on them, saving the best wine to last. 119 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:33,080 Let's look at bright beginnings. 120 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:43,400 Being officiated at marriages in five or six different churches over the last 47 years. 121 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:51,880 And I've had the privilege of helping people, you know, to officially get married. 122 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,400 I have an observation to share. 123 00:10:54,400 --> 00:11:04,480 I've never married anyone, not one single couple that's had a gun to their head. 124 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:14,360 I know you've seen it in the movies, the shotgun wedding, but my experience in the church have 125 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:21,440 been that people as a result of choices that they have made willingly. 126 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:28,480 Now there, I, I, I, I grant you, there may be some extenuating circumstances for some 127 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:33,000 people's coming to the altar. 128 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,480 Usually those don't come out until like six months, a year after. 129 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,680 But anyway, I'm an innocent. 130 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:46,200 I naively, if you tell me you live clean and you're, you know, that everything is copresthetic 131 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:50,800 about it, I, I'll, I'll officiate. 132 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:58,280 But anyway, the point is they've done this by their own free will. 133 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:08,400 And I sense that they have at least some kind of hope that I'm entering into something that 134 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:19,280 genuinely has the potential of being something real, something that's going to enhance and 135 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:30,760 bless my life in improvement as opposed to, Oh boy, I'm headed for endless curses, stress, 136 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:40,360 sleepless nights, thrown furniture, holes in the wall and heartaches, heartbreaks. 137 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:45,140 Oh goody. 138 00:12:45,140 --> 00:12:51,920 At least on some level there is a sense that this is going to be an adventure. 139 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:59,280 There's some hope and dreams that are wound up and the possibility of that, you know what? 140 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:02,400 This is going to be a good thing. 141 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:07,540 And it's almost, it's almost a primal instinct or dream. 142 00:13:07,540 --> 00:13:11,440 And after all, by the way, nobody made them do this. 143 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:18,200 So my point is, is that there's an initial atmosphere when a marriage first begins, there's 144 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:27,040 some hope, there's some kind of goodwill, there's some dreams, et cetera, et cetera, 145 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:28,320 et cetera. 146 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:38,080 But then comes a transition and probably pretty rapidly we go from planet fantasy to planet 147 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:39,080 reality. 148 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,680 I always think about Jacob. 149 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:47,080 He thought he was marrying Rachel. 150 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:57,320 Man, it only took one night and the next morning, you know, they didn't have lights in those. 151 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,760 I still can't figure. 152 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:01,760 I can't see. 153 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:09,440 Anyway, you got to, there's a lot of questions we'll ask in heaven. 154 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:20,080 So the point that I want to make and disabuse anybody of planet fantasy, you know, whimsy, 155 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,480 no, there's no free ride. 156 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:30,960 If you're going to have a successful marriage, it will require all kinds of adjustments, 157 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:37,800 certainly compromises and most of all, a lot of work. 158 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:43,200 You're not going to be on fantasy island, fun and games. 159 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:50,840 Your marriage is not going to be the fulfillment, you know, where, you know, Hollywood has made 160 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:57,480 up, you know, all these dreamy fantasies that you have held in your heart ever since you're 161 00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,920 a little girl. 162 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:09,240 But at some point, relatively soon in the marriage experience, there smacks into a couple, 163 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,440 a startling revelation. 164 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:18,080 We don't have what it takes to pull this off. 165 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:25,000 Pastor Mitchell used to say something and that, you know, that in imitable chuckle. 166 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:31,000 Marriage is two selfish people moving in under the same roof. 167 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:44,320 So wow, the party has run out of wine. 168 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:49,520 And I'd like to take a few liberties with the text because in my mind's eye, it's full 169 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:52,920 of all kinds of metaphors. 170 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:59,800 Just let the wine represent the good vibes, the, you know, that fantasy stage, that celebratory 171 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,440 atmosphere. 172 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,840 But it can change just as fast. 173 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:11,140 We had a wedding party, I'm sorry, a birthday party the other day. 174 00:16:11,140 --> 00:16:18,040 And so I was taking a bunch of balloons into the back of my SUV and very hot in Phoenix. 175 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,920 And so these balloons are filled with helium. 176 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:26,960 And so literally they're straining to go up towards the heavens, you know. 177 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:33,160 They're full of just dream of just, you know, flying into the heavens and then pop! 178 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:41,760 It exploded and it just like blew my other eardrum out. 179 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:49,160 And then, you know, this balloon and now I have this little like, you know, rubber rag 180 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:56,000 that's quivering on the end of a string. 181 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:01,120 And so this can happen. 182 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,920 I used to pastor many years ago in Syravista. 183 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:10,600 We married this couple in the morning service, Tim and Ruth. 184 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:12,640 And so probably we got out of there. 185 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:17,900 I got to my house probably about two o'clock after the marriage and there was a reception 186 00:17:17,900 --> 00:17:25,480 in the church and to my amazement, this is before caller ID, my phone rings. 187 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,400 It's Tim, pastor, this is Tim. 188 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:40,000 You know, I detect this note in his voice of terror. 189 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:46,960 I mean, you know, it's palpable across the, pastor, we need to talk to you. 190 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:55,400 And we have a counseling and I'm thinking about two weeks after the honeymoon or now. 191 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:06,780 I mean, that one is that that is in my record book for the fastest smack with reality. 192 00:18:06,780 --> 00:18:12,020 But it kind of highlights and in our text, again, we have a liberty because the silences 193 00:18:12,020 --> 00:18:17,640 of scripture, they allow us to, you know, take some liberties. 194 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:25,800 And so, you know, in the days that Jesus walked the earth and the Jewish customs, when they 195 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:30,480 had a wedding celebration, that was seven days. 196 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:36,420 And so the party would begin, there would be feasting, there would be, you know, supposed 197 00:18:36,420 --> 00:18:43,560 to be as much food as you want and need in the seven days, as much drink and wedding 198 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,700 beverage as you need or can drink in seven days. 199 00:18:47,700 --> 00:18:50,560 And so, you know what? 200 00:18:50,560 --> 00:19:03,540 Bam, they have run out and now somebody is coming to Jesus and asking for some intervention. 201 00:19:03,540 --> 00:19:10,820 You know, it highlights though that we humans can run out of our earthly resources slash 202 00:19:10,820 --> 00:19:19,080 abilities, strategies, hopes, whatever you want to put in that, in that line of reasoning. 203 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:23,300 We can run out of resources really, really quick. 204 00:19:23,300 --> 00:19:30,740 And so my point is not so much for newlyweds as it is advice for all of us. 205 00:19:30,740 --> 00:19:38,760 And that is that you have made a covenant before God Almighty. 206 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:40,320 I know, you know what? 207 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:45,900 This is a generation, we can hear things and just water off a duck's back. 208 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:55,500 But I'm exhorting you, maybe I could say as someone of an elder, you need to work out 209 00:19:55,500 --> 00:20:00,780 your own marriage with genuine fear and trembling. 210 00:20:00,780 --> 00:20:06,500 And let me encourage you, there's nothing really that if there's some goodwill that 211 00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:13,100 you can't work out and can't work through and come to some solutions. 212 00:20:13,100 --> 00:20:20,100 But I really do want to have as a target those that have been around for a long time. 213 00:20:20,100 --> 00:20:21,340 You've taken some hits. 214 00:20:21,340 --> 00:20:27,500 You know, Paul mentions, you know, he said, I bear in my body the marks. 215 00:20:27,500 --> 00:20:31,500 I've got some scars, I've got some receipts to prove. 216 00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:35,300 And you've taken some hits, communitively. 217 00:20:35,300 --> 00:20:39,060 And quite possibly you haven't processed this correctly. 218 00:20:39,060 --> 00:20:46,340 There's things that instead of being dealt with, processed properly and then flushed, 219 00:20:46,340 --> 00:20:51,620 dismissed, the blood washes and cleanses and deliverance. 220 00:20:51,620 --> 00:20:56,780 And instead, these things are starting to be like a magnet, it's drawing. 221 00:20:56,780 --> 00:21:02,300 And more and more things are being added and building up. 222 00:21:02,300 --> 00:21:08,940 And I want to tell you, eventually it will hit the tipping point, especially in mind 223 00:21:08,940 --> 00:21:12,900 ministers and their marriages. 224 00:21:12,900 --> 00:21:19,100 I remember Pastor Mitchell teaching a men's discipleship and he said, and it was on, you 225 00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:22,700 know, the qualifications of a bishop or a pastor. 226 00:21:22,700 --> 00:21:29,140 And he said, pastor must be the husband of one woman. 227 00:21:29,140 --> 00:21:33,500 And I think his theme was a one woman man. 228 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:40,020 And he basically emphasized, he said, look, if you don't keep your marriage, if you lose 229 00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:48,100 your marriage, you disqualify yourself in our fellowship to be a pastor. 230 00:21:48,100 --> 00:21:53,260 Now I understand there's people that are here, some have been through a divorce, you've gone 231 00:21:53,260 --> 00:21:55,120 through some things. 232 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:59,660 And so, but I want you to give me a full hearing now. 233 00:21:59,660 --> 00:22:09,140 I'm talking about those that are in the ministry and there's a man, and I knew this man casually. 234 00:22:09,140 --> 00:22:10,700 I liked him, he's a good guy. 235 00:22:10,700 --> 00:22:12,540 He's a very, very gifted man. 236 00:22:12,540 --> 00:22:19,740 I admired his ministry ability and he was out, he was an evangelist in our fellowship. 237 00:22:19,740 --> 00:22:23,740 And this was years ago and he was out preaching. 238 00:22:23,740 --> 00:22:26,540 Time came for him to fly back home. 239 00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:28,540 His wife picked him up. 240 00:22:28,540 --> 00:22:33,380 Evidently she was driving and she drove them to the house. 241 00:22:33,380 --> 00:22:37,420 And so he, you know, long trip, weary, lots of stuff on his mind. 242 00:22:37,420 --> 00:22:43,500 Well, he gets out of the truck they were in and he goes to grab his suitcase and he notices 243 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:48,500 his wife is still sitting in the car and still has a seatbelt on. 244 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:52,220 He says, honey, aren't you getting out? 245 00:22:52,220 --> 00:22:59,460 And she says to him, world changing, ministry changing words. 246 00:22:59,460 --> 00:23:06,300 No, I don't live here anymore. 247 00:23:06,300 --> 00:23:10,540 You feel it? 248 00:23:10,540 --> 00:23:15,660 That changes the complete landscape. 249 00:23:15,660 --> 00:23:23,300 The man ended up losing his ministry, divorcing, backsliding. 250 00:23:23,300 --> 00:23:30,780 And right here is a good place to insert something very intensely if I can. 251 00:23:30,780 --> 00:23:36,740 Here, no one lives to themselves and no one dies to themselves. 252 00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:41,460 There are all kinds of ramifications in that story. 253 00:23:41,460 --> 00:23:47,460 And usually in our fellowship we have laughed a little bit, smirked about this. 254 00:23:47,460 --> 00:23:52,300 We joke our fellowship is not a vine. 255 00:23:52,300 --> 00:23:56,380 We're not just a vine that's spreading out over the earth. 256 00:23:56,380 --> 00:23:58,860 We are a wreath. 257 00:23:58,860 --> 00:23:59,860 What do I mean by that? 258 00:23:59,860 --> 00:24:06,580 I mean that we're all, dang it, we're all related. 259 00:24:06,580 --> 00:24:18,540 My last name is spelled A-U-L, S-O-N if you're wanting to adjust your will accordingly. 260 00:24:18,540 --> 00:24:19,540 What is it? 261 00:24:19,540 --> 00:24:21,540 Six degrees, seven degrees. 262 00:24:21,540 --> 00:24:29,540 In our fellowship, it's not just you and that person that's going to be affected. 263 00:24:29,540 --> 00:24:36,300 I'm talking about something that takes on a whole new terrifying meaning. 264 00:24:36,300 --> 00:24:45,940 When you add up how many lives, how many families, how many churches are interconnected, and 265 00:24:45,940 --> 00:24:52,420 believe me when I say I have seen, I have seen the modern version of the Hatfields and 266 00:24:52,420 --> 00:24:54,860 the McCoys. 267 00:24:54,860 --> 00:25:00,140 It's a feud, American feud, supposedly the longest lasting feud. 268 00:25:00,140 --> 00:25:04,420 And it has to do with family blood and so on and so forth. 269 00:25:04,420 --> 00:25:10,460 And believe me when I say brother, sister, no matter how you slice or dice it, it ain't 270 00:25:10,460 --> 00:25:17,100 pretty when somebody's marriage is destroyed. 271 00:25:17,100 --> 00:25:19,660 Let's go back to this text. 272 00:25:19,660 --> 00:25:28,420 So they're in a seven day feast, the guests are expecting to be feeded to nonstop eating, 273 00:25:28,420 --> 00:25:36,420 drinking, and if they ran out of wine, this really has bad connotations for your future. 274 00:25:36,420 --> 00:25:43,900 If I take a license to spiritualize, seven is the number of perfection and completion. 275 00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:51,940 I do believe, it's not an exaggeration to say that is God's goal, that is God's wish, 276 00:25:51,940 --> 00:25:59,620 that is God's intent for every single marriage, that God wants to place his benediction, he 277 00:25:59,620 --> 00:26:07,780 wants to bless, he wants to pronounce on every single couple that choose to honor him in 278 00:26:07,780 --> 00:26:12,260 holy matrimony, holy wedlock. 279 00:26:12,260 --> 00:26:16,460 He wants to be able to pronounce, it is very good. 280 00:26:16,460 --> 00:26:24,900 But in this situation, suddenly everything has gone south and so we are not sure what 281 00:26:24,900 --> 00:26:27,780 day that was and so let me apply that. 282 00:26:27,780 --> 00:26:36,380 So seven, seven is the number of perfection, let's just say seven decades, I don't know, 283 00:26:36,380 --> 00:26:38,380 they got married very young let's say. 284 00:26:38,380 --> 00:26:44,940 So I don't know if it was day one, immediately this blew up, day two, day five, we are not 285 00:26:44,940 --> 00:26:55,820 sure but suddenly bam, there is a pall that descends down upon this wedding party and 286 00:26:55,820 --> 00:27:01,900 thankfully somebody had enough good sense to get Jesus involved and so that's my next 287 00:27:01,900 --> 00:27:06,260 point is triggering Jesus time. 288 00:27:06,260 --> 00:27:11,340 Or in other words, getting God involved in our marriage equation. 289 00:27:11,340 --> 00:27:20,020 So that is absolutely, totally the thing to do but not so fast and not under any circumstances. 290 00:27:20,020 --> 00:27:28,540 You know what, there are conditions for God to come to our aid in our marriage, for God 291 00:27:28,540 --> 00:27:37,700 to take the field as it were and to show forth his power or his grace and it is not just 292 00:27:37,700 --> 00:27:46,820 you know, oh, you know what, we had poor planning, oh, we didn't have enough money, oh, you know 293 00:27:46,820 --> 00:27:57,220 what, you know, uncle Eddie forgot to, you know, he didn't get the cask of wine, you 294 00:27:57,220 --> 00:28:04,900 know what, and oh, but you know what, no problem, we have Jesus automatic, you know what, everything 295 00:28:04,900 --> 00:28:14,020 is cool man, snap your fingers and Jesus will come to the rescue and so, but that's not 296 00:28:14,020 --> 00:28:16,780 taught in the scripture. 297 00:28:16,780 --> 00:28:24,180 So the silences of scripture again, they allow us to impose some liberties here. 298 00:28:24,180 --> 00:28:30,580 What we do know for certain, we do know this, we don't know what day or what stage of the 299 00:28:30,580 --> 00:28:38,820 marriage celebration that this came down but we do know this is that Jesus didn't just 300 00:28:38,820 --> 00:28:50,260 immediately jump in and take over and no one can snap their fingers, hear Jesus, hear Jesus, 301 00:28:50,260 --> 00:28:55,340 come and just work this out including Mary. 302 00:28:55,340 --> 00:29:02,660 I'm not going to take the time to develop that but the point that we shouldn't miss 303 00:29:02,660 --> 00:29:11,460 is of the closest human relationship that could possibly be in Jesus' life, his own 304 00:29:11,460 --> 00:29:13,060 mother. 305 00:29:13,060 --> 00:29:19,220 And so check this out, I mean, look at this again with some fresh eyes. 306 00:29:19,220 --> 00:29:27,420 They have no wine and Jesus is retort back very tersely, woman, what have I to do with 307 00:29:27,420 --> 00:29:29,220 you? 308 00:29:29,220 --> 00:29:44,060 Dude, if I said that to my mother, my mom would have cracked me one. 309 00:29:44,060 --> 00:29:49,900 Not my time, it's not my appointed call. 310 00:29:49,900 --> 00:29:55,220 So she was very agile in that she caught his drift. 311 00:29:55,220 --> 00:30:03,860 She immediately shifted from a demanding attitude of Jesus fix it, come on Jesus, I know you 312 00:30:03,860 --> 00:30:12,500 could, I know you, I know that you could fix it if you wanted to Jesus. 313 00:30:12,500 --> 00:30:21,020 I want you to remember Mary had some experience of having a cloud over her marriage. 314 00:30:21,020 --> 00:30:30,540 It's very poignant, no doubt, very commonly held belief by many commentators. 315 00:30:30,540 --> 00:30:37,220 Jesus and his mother and his disciples were called, so this is probably someone relatively 316 00:30:37,220 --> 00:30:44,780 close to Jesus in the sense of a blood relative, Mary's blood relative. 317 00:30:44,780 --> 00:30:54,260 So having her past experience informing her of what it means to have a trauma attached 318 00:30:54,260 --> 00:31:00,620 to the early stages of your marriage, oh no, oh no, I know what that feels like, I know 319 00:31:00,620 --> 00:31:04,260 what that involves, no, I don't want this. 320 00:31:04,260 --> 00:31:10,620 Probably if as some commentators believe that Jesus with the extra group of hungry men and 321 00:31:10,620 --> 00:31:16,460 thirsty men, the whole Mary band came along with him, so it's quite possible the reason 322 00:31:16,460 --> 00:31:22,260 why they ran out of wine in the first place is because of the extra burden that Jesus 323 00:31:22,260 --> 00:31:25,260 brought to this whole equation. 324 00:31:25,260 --> 00:31:35,580 And so, yet what we find is that not even the most intimate earthly bonds automatically 325 00:31:35,580 --> 00:31:42,200 bring Jesus into the case or get him to take the case up and become involved. 326 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:49,420 So when she shifted and her attitude changed from they have no wine, in other words, fix 327 00:31:49,420 --> 00:31:57,420 this to, oh, excuse me Jesus, I approached this completely wrong, now she takes the pose 328 00:31:57,420 --> 00:32:06,660 of whatever he says, do it, in other words, I got my mistake, I tried to impose to get 329 00:32:06,660 --> 00:32:14,500 him to do my will, no one's going to domineer Jesus Christ, no one is going to dominate 330 00:32:14,500 --> 00:32:23,420 or manipulate or use tears or whatever might be the earthly way that we might try, she 331 00:32:23,420 --> 00:32:30,020 now takes the pose of a supplicant, you know what, whatever he says, in other words, I 332 00:32:30,020 --> 00:32:36,180 am going to put him in his proper place where he deserves and needs to be, if he's going 333 00:32:36,180 --> 00:32:40,580 to move on my behalf or your behalf, he has to be Lord. 334 00:32:40,580 --> 00:32:44,900 I think it was Pastor Paul Campbell many, many years ago said something that always 335 00:32:44,900 --> 00:32:54,220 resonated with me and that is that God only works for what he's put in charge of. 336 00:32:54,220 --> 00:32:55,860 He has to be made Lord. 337 00:32:55,860 --> 00:33:04,180 And by the way, this would be a good place to invoke the law of first mention in Bible 338 00:33:04,180 --> 00:33:10,040 interpretation, the law was something first appears, that is its primary meaning. 339 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:19,620 And then all subsequent mentions or statements later on, but it all goes back to the first 340 00:33:19,620 --> 00:33:21,900 mention that is the first priority. 341 00:33:21,900 --> 00:33:28,900 For example, God in the beginning created Adam and Eve, he married them later on, Moses 342 00:33:28,900 --> 00:33:36,300 has to issue some reasons why people can get divorced and they're hassling and haggling 343 00:33:36,300 --> 00:33:43,140 with Jesus about that and Jesus said, yeah, Moses granted you that concession because 344 00:33:43,140 --> 00:33:46,320 of the reality of the hardness of men's hearts. 345 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:52,980 But in the beginning, law first mentioned, it was not always so what God has joined together, 346 00:33:52,980 --> 00:34:00,380 let no man, no circumstance, no devil put, you know, divide. 347 00:34:00,380 --> 00:34:09,660 And so this is there's something in this miracle that is applicable to all other miracles. 348 00:34:09,660 --> 00:34:16,300 In other words, the factor that moved this situation from being an insolvable problem, 349 00:34:16,300 --> 00:34:24,440 a disaster, looming disaster to God taking the field and God working a miracle and smoothing 350 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:30,740 this out was that Mary put Jesus Christ in his proper place. 351 00:34:30,740 --> 00:34:34,740 So it's really basic scripture math. 352 00:34:34,740 --> 00:34:39,900 What does Jesus say to all of us to do? 353 00:34:39,900 --> 00:34:45,020 So we could have an endless list, there's this possibility and there's that possibility, 354 00:34:45,020 --> 00:34:52,860 this unique situation and my problem has a bit of a different flavor or you know what 355 00:34:52,860 --> 00:34:57,340 and I'm this age and going through these kinds of things and now I'm older and going through 356 00:34:57,340 --> 00:34:58,340 this. 357 00:34:58,340 --> 00:35:07,980 No, every, the generalization is that you know what, Jesus Christ needs to be, he needs 358 00:35:07,980 --> 00:35:16,440 to be exalted as the Lord and then when he gives us his direction, this isn't just an 359 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:24,500 option of, you know, oh yeah, maybe I'll, I possibly, oh, I need to forgive that person. 360 00:35:24,500 --> 00:35:28,980 Oh, I need to love my wife as Christ loved the church. 361 00:35:28,980 --> 00:35:35,180 Oh, I need to submit to my husband as unto the, you know what, whatever Jesus says to 362 00:35:35,180 --> 00:35:43,180 you, brother, sister, in your marriage situation, if you'll hear that and do that, then you 363 00:35:43,180 --> 00:35:48,260 can have a confidence that God will undertake. 364 00:35:48,260 --> 00:35:50,900 Glory to God. 365 00:35:50,900 --> 00:35:58,620 And I am tired, I'm tired of people trying to manipulate the preacher. 366 00:35:58,620 --> 00:36:04,520 Okay, I'm on my side, thank God there's a moat. 367 00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:12,900 I'm on my side and you always know it's gonna be, it's gonna be a long one if you put the 368 00:36:12,900 --> 00:36:20,380 chairs and then they come in and they move the chairs and now he's there and basically, 369 00:36:20,380 --> 00:36:30,940 machine guns, AR-15, and so basically, a lot of times anyway, it's whose side are you on, 370 00:36:30,940 --> 00:36:31,940 preacher? 371 00:36:31,940 --> 00:36:36,420 Are you on my team? 372 00:36:36,420 --> 00:36:43,780 You know what, and maybe, you know what, all kinds of different little tricks of the trade, 373 00:36:43,780 --> 00:36:48,340 so to speak, and or are you on the husband's team? 374 00:36:48,340 --> 00:36:52,060 Yeah, you're a man, so you're gonna be biased to the man. 375 00:36:52,060 --> 00:36:57,540 Oh, you're a softy, you know what, you know what, she turns on a few alligator tears and 376 00:36:57,540 --> 00:37:02,380 you just, you know, and so yeah, I knew this was gonna happen, I knew you were gonna side 377 00:37:02,380 --> 00:37:04,220 with her. 378 00:37:04,220 --> 00:37:11,700 So I just, I like to kind of get them both mad at me. 379 00:37:11,700 --> 00:37:18,080 I kind of, you know, like I take, I adopt a pose, I said listen to me, listen to me, 380 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:34,220 I am not for team her and I'm not for team him, I am for team Jesus. 381 00:37:34,220 --> 00:37:43,140 And I learned a long time ago, it's not who is right, yeah, yeah, possibly the woman's 382 00:37:43,140 --> 00:37:50,740 76% right and the guy is the rest, you know, he's the rest, I was at 26 if I can still 383 00:37:50,740 --> 00:37:52,100 remember then. 384 00:37:52,100 --> 00:37:59,300 And so, you know what, oh, 50-50, you know what, no, that's not what we need, that's 385 00:37:59,300 --> 00:38:00,740 not what we need. 386 00:38:00,740 --> 00:38:07,220 Well, you know, affirm me that I'm, you know, I'm more right than him. 387 00:38:07,220 --> 00:38:14,620 Listen, even if you quote, are more right with him, you both are gonna lose if you have 388 00:38:14,620 --> 00:38:19,260 the wrong attitude and you come out of this with the wrong attitude and so I learned it's 389 00:38:19,260 --> 00:38:25,020 not who is right, it is what is right. 390 00:38:25,020 --> 00:38:35,300 Remember Joshua is at the walls, he's reconitering there in Jericho and he encounters a foreboding 391 00:38:35,300 --> 00:38:45,220 figure and he says, are you for our adversaries or are you for us, are you for team, you know, 392 00:38:45,220 --> 00:38:51,820 Hebrews or are you for team Jerichoites, whose team, declare your loyalties, whose team are 393 00:38:51,820 --> 00:38:53,300 you on? 394 00:38:53,300 --> 00:38:59,340 It's a marvelous insight into the mind of God and he says, neither. 395 00:38:59,340 --> 00:39:10,260 Now I know that if you're a Yankee fan, you think the Lord is a Yankee fan. 396 00:39:10,260 --> 00:39:17,660 If you are from Boston, you absolutely know the truth. 397 00:39:17,660 --> 00:39:23,940 But I learned something long time ago, he's not going for it. 398 00:39:23,940 --> 00:39:24,940 Why? 399 00:39:24,940 --> 00:39:25,940 Why pastor? 400 00:39:25,940 --> 00:39:28,660 Why don't you, no, don't tip your cards. 401 00:39:28,660 --> 00:39:29,660 Why? 402 00:39:29,660 --> 00:39:30,660 Why? 403 00:39:30,660 --> 00:39:33,980 Because if you side with her, even if she's right, then he hates you. 404 00:39:33,980 --> 00:39:36,740 If you side with him, then she hates you. 405 00:39:36,740 --> 00:39:39,380 You can't win. 406 00:39:39,380 --> 00:39:40,380 And you know what? 407 00:39:40,380 --> 00:39:42,140 My job is to be the mailman. 408 00:39:42,140 --> 00:39:47,780 I just simply can take the word of God, the teaching of God, seek to get the mind of God, 409 00:39:47,780 --> 00:39:54,460 the heart of God and with compassion, Pastor Lamb preached the masterpiece with compassion. 410 00:39:54,460 --> 00:39:56,020 Here's two people. 411 00:39:56,020 --> 00:39:59,060 He held a gun to your head, bro. 412 00:39:59,060 --> 00:40:02,220 Sis, nobody made you do this. 413 00:40:02,220 --> 00:40:06,380 And I want to remind you, you said a vow to God Almighty. 414 00:40:06,380 --> 00:40:09,900 No, you're not getting away from it so easy. 415 00:40:09,900 --> 00:40:11,500 No, no, no. 416 00:40:11,500 --> 00:40:15,860 I'm not going to be the easy touch, you know, pastor said. 417 00:40:15,860 --> 00:40:17,140 And no, no, no. 418 00:40:17,140 --> 00:40:18,660 You know what I'm going to tell you? 419 00:40:18,660 --> 00:40:21,140 Is that you need to hear from God. 420 00:40:21,140 --> 00:40:26,260 And Jesus had a very similar situation as he's in his earthly ministry. 421 00:40:26,260 --> 00:40:30,740 And here comes this guy and he mouths off right in the middle of Jesus's powerful kingdom 422 00:40:30,740 --> 00:40:31,740 teaching. 423 00:40:31,740 --> 00:40:38,680 Hey, Jesus, would you speak to my no good brother that he would split the inheritance 424 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:39,680 with me? 425 00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:41,260 And Jesus rebuked the dude. 426 00:40:41,260 --> 00:40:47,020 He said, hey, dude, who made me judge over you? 427 00:40:47,020 --> 00:40:50,720 Point of fact, Jesus is the judge over us. 428 00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:53,980 Point of fact, Jesus absolutely knows the truth. 429 00:40:53,980 --> 00:40:55,060 He could have called. 430 00:40:55,060 --> 00:40:58,220 He could have made a judgment that is totally spot on. 431 00:40:58,220 --> 00:41:01,460 He refused to go for the bait. 432 00:41:01,460 --> 00:41:02,460 What did he do? 433 00:41:02,460 --> 00:41:09,100 Instead, he used that very rude interruption as an occasion to teach principles of the 434 00:41:09,100 --> 00:41:14,020 kingdom of God that if they would be listened to and they would be taken hold of the spirit 435 00:41:14,020 --> 00:41:17,140 of the matter, that would have solved the issue. 436 00:41:17,140 --> 00:41:23,180 So some steps that will assist Jesus being willing to come into your equation. 437 00:41:23,180 --> 00:41:28,860 First, first, what God has joined together, let not man put asunder. 438 00:41:28,860 --> 00:41:32,580 Now you heard that ad nauseam perhaps, but you know what? 439 00:41:32,580 --> 00:41:42,860 The issue is that if that is the central truth, the bedrock truth, let not man, that includes 440 00:41:42,860 --> 00:41:43,860 me. 441 00:41:43,860 --> 00:41:46,260 I don't have the right to blow up my marriage. 442 00:41:46,260 --> 00:41:49,180 I don't have the right to sabotage my marriage. 443 00:41:49,180 --> 00:41:50,860 I don't have enough good reasons. 444 00:41:50,860 --> 00:41:51,860 You know what? 445 00:41:51,860 --> 00:41:54,180 I need to lay hold of God. 446 00:41:54,180 --> 00:41:55,900 And again, I need to say this. 447 00:41:55,900 --> 00:42:03,060 I know there's some people and I'm not ministering and saying that there's no biblical reasons 448 00:42:03,060 --> 00:42:07,300 ever for a legitimate divorce. 449 00:42:07,300 --> 00:42:12,980 If somebody is married to a habitual adulterer, if somebody is married to somebody that abandoned 450 00:42:12,980 --> 00:42:19,420 them, if somebody is married to a habitual addict, which in my book is kind of a little 451 00:42:19,420 --> 00:42:22,180 is under the same clause as abandonment. 452 00:42:22,180 --> 00:42:24,420 Yes, there are biblical reasons. 453 00:42:24,420 --> 00:42:29,940 Again, though, again, we should note because of the hardness of men's hearts, God gave 454 00:42:29,940 --> 00:42:33,280 that concession because of his mercy. 455 00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:37,840 But you know, the truth of the matter is, is that if we have a commitment that I made 456 00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:43,380 a vow and I need to seriously, I need to look at marriage like I think Pastor Mitchell or 457 00:42:43,380 --> 00:42:51,940 I read in a book, marriage is like going into a room and there are no exits. 458 00:42:51,940 --> 00:43:00,400 Now if you really, if you really believe that, I am on an island marooned with this person 459 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:01,400 and I ain't getting off. 460 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:04,540 I mean, I'm not getting off this island. 461 00:43:04,540 --> 00:43:10,320 So I'm not going to spend the next 50 years squabbling over, you know, you, you know, 462 00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:13,660 you didn't share the, you didn't share the coconut. 463 00:43:13,660 --> 00:43:14,660 You know what? 464 00:43:14,660 --> 00:43:20,140 I'm, I'm, no, no, no, I'm going to figure out some things. 465 00:43:20,140 --> 00:43:26,480 And so I want to quickly give you a few things, some steps that will assist Jesus to be willing 466 00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:28,100 to come into the equation. 467 00:43:28,100 --> 00:43:33,180 And that is, is that if you really look at it this way, you're going to have an attitude 468 00:43:33,180 --> 00:43:42,380 adjustment and that means that you fight fair and you fight fast. 469 00:43:42,380 --> 00:43:48,420 Ephesians 4 26, be you angry and send not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath. 470 00:43:48,420 --> 00:43:50,580 Neither give place to the devil. 471 00:43:50,580 --> 00:43:56,260 So it acknowledges that there's going to be, you know, issues to face as problems and reality 472 00:43:56,260 --> 00:43:58,940 of people, you know, we're in a fallen world. 473 00:43:58,940 --> 00:43:59,940 We're too selfish. 474 00:43:59,940 --> 00:44:04,100 People having to come on the same roof and you know what? 475 00:44:04,100 --> 00:44:09,220 So there's going to be some times when, when temper flares up, but you know what? 476 00:44:09,220 --> 00:44:11,220 God commands us, not an option. 477 00:44:11,220 --> 00:44:12,820 He commands you. 478 00:44:12,820 --> 00:44:20,460 If you get ticked off, you have to be ticked off cleanly. 479 00:44:20,460 --> 00:44:22,060 What does that mean? 480 00:44:22,060 --> 00:44:30,420 You don't get a license and a, and a, and a, and a, a plenary indulgence to start using 481 00:44:30,420 --> 00:44:31,420 vulgar words. 482 00:44:31,420 --> 00:44:40,820 No, you're going to have an angel punch your teeth out. 483 00:44:40,820 --> 00:44:46,340 If you talk like that, I know I want to, I want to weigh in on this a little bit. 484 00:44:46,340 --> 00:44:54,660 I don't care if Fox news is publishing F asterisk asterisk and, and, and you know what? 485 00:44:54,660 --> 00:44:57,300 We live in a filthy generation. 486 00:44:57,300 --> 00:44:58,580 We live in a filthy day. 487 00:44:58,580 --> 00:44:59,580 And you know what? 488 00:44:59,580 --> 00:45:04,700 You can really tell a lot about a spiritual condition of a society by the language and 489 00:45:04,700 --> 00:45:10,220 profanity that's a, that's not only in, you know, like wink, wink, but no Christian, we 490 00:45:10,220 --> 00:45:15,380 are totally, totally called to fight fair. 491 00:45:15,380 --> 00:45:17,540 That means that, you know what? 492 00:45:17,540 --> 00:45:20,580 Even if I'm upset, I don't have the liberty to go off. 493 00:45:20,580 --> 00:45:26,500 Well, I just, you know, I'm, I'm Irish and I have a liberty, you know, pastor, don't 494 00:45:26,500 --> 00:45:29,060 expect me to be like, you know what? 495 00:45:29,060 --> 00:45:32,580 I'm not, you know, I'm, I'm from a hot blooded family. 496 00:45:32,580 --> 00:45:35,420 I'm from a family expresses their emotions. 497 00:45:35,420 --> 00:45:37,700 Stop that. 498 00:45:37,700 --> 00:45:39,220 Stop expressing those emotions. 499 00:45:39,220 --> 00:45:42,260 And you might, you might have some apple pie tonight. 500 00:45:42,260 --> 00:45:45,140 I don't know. 501 00:45:45,140 --> 00:45:48,060 But you're supposed to work it out. 502 00:45:48,060 --> 00:45:50,980 And I'm not telling you I'm perfect on this, but you know what? 503 00:45:50,980 --> 00:45:54,100 My Mrs. Is here and so I'm very mindful. 504 00:45:54,100 --> 00:45:55,100 She's watching me now. 505 00:45:55,100 --> 00:45:59,660 And so what I say, you know what? 506 00:45:59,660 --> 00:46:01,340 She can throw away. 507 00:46:01,340 --> 00:46:04,140 And so I can tell on you, Mark Olson. 508 00:46:04,140 --> 00:46:06,860 So anyway, I have to, you know what? 509 00:46:06,860 --> 00:46:11,660 You're supposed to work it out fast and you're supposed to come to grips. 510 00:46:11,660 --> 00:46:18,620 Let me just tell you something is that when I went into the Philippines and this is for 511 00:46:18,620 --> 00:46:22,740 missionaries, I had a situation. 512 00:46:22,740 --> 00:46:28,580 We didn't have long distance phone calls that were, you know, affordable. 513 00:46:28,580 --> 00:46:34,320 We didn't have cell phones, email, texting, FaceTime, all that kind of stuff. 514 00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:40,660 And so we had to pretty much Michelle and I had to really work on our marriage. 515 00:46:40,660 --> 00:46:46,700 I had this understanding if I lose my marriage, I get I'm going to be taken out of the ministry 516 00:46:46,700 --> 00:46:49,760 and I feel like I'm called to the Philippines. 517 00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:55,680 This is like this is a God thing and I have to I have to make my marriage work. 518 00:46:55,680 --> 00:47:00,660 And so there were real situations as loneliness as problems and so forth. 519 00:47:00,660 --> 00:47:08,540 So I had to be my my wife's husband, the father of her children, which that has whole response, 520 00:47:08,540 --> 00:47:11,980 a bunch of responsibility, and you can laugh if you want. 521 00:47:11,980 --> 00:47:19,860 But I had to be her girlfriend. 522 00:47:19,860 --> 00:47:20,860 You know what? 523 00:47:20,860 --> 00:47:25,140 I don't care if you laugh. 524 00:47:25,140 --> 00:47:37,940 We made it nine years, pal. 525 00:47:37,940 --> 00:47:45,740 And Jesus understands that all marriages are the result of right words. 526 00:47:45,740 --> 00:47:49,820 There's two sentences that have eight letters. 527 00:47:49,820 --> 00:47:56,860 I am sorry that comes out to eight letters. 528 00:47:56,860 --> 00:47:58,980 Another eight letter sentence. 529 00:47:58,980 --> 00:48:03,540 I love you. 530 00:48:03,540 --> 00:48:07,940 I heard about this guy that had a ginormous fight with his wife and he stormed out of 531 00:48:07,940 --> 00:48:11,180 the house only later to text her and said, I need to come back. 532 00:48:11,180 --> 00:48:12,340 She texts back. 533 00:48:12,340 --> 00:48:15,220 I need three words, eight letters. 534 00:48:15,220 --> 00:48:16,660 He texts back. 535 00:48:16,660 --> 00:48:21,580 I got food. 536 00:48:21,580 --> 00:48:26,180 She said, get over here now. 537 00:48:26,180 --> 00:48:37,980 How about one, fifteen letters, fifteen letters. 538 00:48:37,980 --> 00:48:40,860 Please forgive me. 539 00:48:40,860 --> 00:48:45,820 I know. 540 00:48:45,820 --> 00:48:48,100 I know. 541 00:48:48,100 --> 00:48:58,300 But listen, the best wine is safe to last if you really have it in your heart. 542 00:48:58,300 --> 00:49:00,100 I want to make memories. 543 00:49:00,100 --> 00:49:03,380 You want good memories when you're so many 85 years old. 544 00:49:03,380 --> 00:49:07,260 I know one of the brothers talked about he's up in his 80s. 545 00:49:07,260 --> 00:49:13,380 He said, yep, my wife and I, we have two rocking chairs and we really get our, you know, a 546 00:49:13,380 --> 00:49:16,460 lot of excitement watching the hummingbirds. 547 00:49:16,460 --> 00:49:21,380 Made me laugh, but you know what? 548 00:49:21,380 --> 00:49:28,180 It's like you want to be able to like, like Pastor Sergey said this in Tempe church Sunday 549 00:49:28,180 --> 00:49:29,180 night. 550 00:49:29,180 --> 00:49:31,620 We are going to grow old together. 551 00:49:31,620 --> 00:49:34,860 Michelle Olson, we are going to grow old together. 552 00:49:34,860 --> 00:49:40,260 We're just, we're just, we're just kids right now. 553 00:49:40,260 --> 00:49:49,220 So I mean, think about this, think about this husband. 554 00:49:49,220 --> 00:49:52,020 If you love your wife, the Bible said you love yourself. 555 00:49:52,020 --> 00:49:56,900 Now that's kind of kind of weird paradox, isn't it? 556 00:49:56,900 --> 00:49:57,900 But you know what? 557 00:49:57,900 --> 00:49:58,900 It means something. 558 00:49:58,900 --> 00:50:00,420 And if you say, you know what? 559 00:50:00,420 --> 00:50:05,940 I'm going to try to outdo my wife by blessing her more. 560 00:50:05,940 --> 00:50:08,820 I'm not going to keep score of her. 561 00:50:08,820 --> 00:50:13,580 I'm not going to try to keep score of how many things she's done that's made me upset 562 00:50:13,580 --> 00:50:14,580 or mad. 563 00:50:14,580 --> 00:50:16,260 I'm going to try to keep score. 564 00:50:16,260 --> 00:50:19,100 How can I bless her? 565 00:50:19,100 --> 00:50:23,180 Because I have in my mind, God's watching, God is looking, God is pleased. 566 00:50:23,180 --> 00:50:25,260 You know, it should not be said. 567 00:50:25,260 --> 00:50:27,460 Shulamith said this in Song of Solomon. 568 00:50:27,460 --> 00:50:33,180 By the way, you need a little pep in your step. 569 00:50:33,180 --> 00:50:37,140 Read the book of Song of Solomon's in a modern translation. 570 00:50:37,140 --> 00:50:38,140 Song of Solomon's one six. 571 00:50:38,140 --> 00:50:39,140 I can't resist. 572 00:50:39,140 --> 00:50:40,140 I'm sorry. 573 00:50:40,140 --> 00:50:43,100 I get some song in chapter one, verse six. 574 00:50:43,100 --> 00:50:49,900 They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard have I not kept. 575 00:50:49,900 --> 00:50:55,940 No, you can't save someone else from drowning if you can't swim first. 576 00:50:55,940 --> 00:50:57,940 I forgot first. 577 00:50:57,940 --> 00:51:00,060 You have to have your marriage. 578 00:51:00,060 --> 00:51:03,980 And there's so many blessings and I don't want to keep going on. 579 00:51:03,980 --> 00:51:06,660 But this is what I want to tell you. 580 00:51:06,660 --> 00:51:08,580 One time I'm on staff, I'm closing with this. 581 00:51:08,580 --> 00:51:12,220 I'm on staff and I messed up. 582 00:51:12,220 --> 00:51:13,220 There was a band. 583 00:51:13,220 --> 00:51:14,540 Jews for Jesus were coming in. 584 00:51:14,540 --> 00:51:21,060 I was supposed to find them and bring them to the church and wires got crossed. 585 00:51:21,060 --> 00:51:29,140 And so anyway, suffice to say, Pastor Mitchell was not happy with me, the door director. 586 00:51:29,140 --> 00:51:33,380 So I remember going to him and everything worked out. 587 00:51:33,380 --> 00:51:42,220 I remember going to him and said, Pastor Mitchell, I hope you don't think I'm a buffoon. 588 00:51:42,220 --> 00:51:45,900 Those are the wrong words to say. 589 00:51:45,900 --> 00:51:48,500 He got up in my grill. 590 00:51:48,500 --> 00:51:54,860 Alson, if you don't find God, you're not going to make it. 591 00:51:54,860 --> 00:51:56,660 And then he took off. 592 00:51:56,660 --> 00:52:01,020 Pastor Lamb talked about Lamb, the kicks and the scars. 593 00:52:01,020 --> 00:52:02,020 Where are you, brother? 594 00:52:02,020 --> 00:52:04,500 Whoever? 595 00:52:04,500 --> 00:52:08,900 I got yours. 596 00:52:08,900 --> 00:52:09,900 I got him. 597 00:52:09,900 --> 00:52:15,860 He didn't have that kind of mercy with me, Lamb. 598 00:52:15,860 --> 00:52:25,420 Anyway, I'm just telling you, I'm just going to tell you this. 599 00:52:25,420 --> 00:52:30,780 Alson, if you don't find God, you're not going to make it. 600 00:52:30,780 --> 00:52:34,260 My initial reaction, just like probably many men's, you know what? 601 00:52:34,260 --> 00:52:37,260 He doesn't know and he didn't hear my story. 602 00:52:37,260 --> 00:52:42,420 He didn't even let me talk and tell him why I'm not a buffoon. 603 00:52:42,420 --> 00:52:50,300 No, he had a very finely tuned sense of discernment. 604 00:52:50,300 --> 00:52:51,980 And so everybody else is gone. 605 00:52:51,980 --> 00:52:55,580 I'm the last person in the Ruth Street Church. 606 00:52:55,580 --> 00:53:00,940 And so I had a choice, crossroads in your heart, crossroads. 607 00:53:00,940 --> 00:53:02,880 He doesn't understand me. 608 00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:04,900 He just jumped in my butt. 609 00:53:04,900 --> 00:53:07,380 I don't know, maybe something's going on in his house. 610 00:53:07,380 --> 00:53:11,180 I don't know. 611 00:53:11,180 --> 00:53:16,300 Or yikes. 612 00:53:16,300 --> 00:53:23,060 My pastor, who I deeply respect and I concur with Pastor Lamb's message, he just warned 613 00:53:23,060 --> 00:53:27,980 me, God, I'm going to heed what he told me. 614 00:53:27,980 --> 00:53:31,420 And I went up in the prayer room and I had a good 15 minute prayer meeting. 615 00:53:31,420 --> 00:53:33,420 God, don't let it happen to me. 616 00:53:33,420 --> 00:53:35,580 Please, Jesus, I repent. 617 00:53:35,580 --> 00:53:37,580 I repent of being born. 618 00:53:37,580 --> 00:53:38,580 Please. 619 00:53:38,580 --> 00:53:43,300 You know what? 620 00:53:43,300 --> 00:53:48,900 Beyond just the surface externals of that, there was a spiritual thing happen. 621 00:53:48,900 --> 00:53:54,140 And I believe that God, you may not be like, oh, it's on the brink of things crashing, 622 00:53:54,140 --> 00:53:56,540 but you would be wise to heed. 623 00:53:56,540 --> 00:53:59,020 Any man think he stand, take heed lest he fall. 624 00:53:59,020 --> 00:54:00,020 Let's bow our heads. 625 00:54:00,020 --> 00:54:05,700 Father, we thank you for your goodness, your mercy. 626 00:54:05,700 --> 00:54:16,380 Without you, we can do nothing that's really real and really going to last. 627 00:54:16,380 --> 00:54:19,780 Accept the Lord, build the house, we labor but in vain. 628 00:54:19,780 --> 00:54:27,220 Accept the Lord, keep the city, keep the marriage, we wake but in vain. 629 00:54:27,220 --> 00:54:28,220 Help us. 630 00:54:28,220 --> 00:54:33,740 First thing, you're not going to really be able to pull this off unless you really get 631 00:54:33,740 --> 00:54:35,340 your heart right with Jesus Christ. 632 00:54:35,340 --> 00:54:40,420 If you're not a Christian, you've never been born again or you're backslid, I'm not going 633 00:54:40,420 --> 00:54:42,580 to take time to go on and on. 634 00:54:42,580 --> 00:54:46,700 But I just want to give you an opportunity to respond and say, God, I'm going to humble 635 00:54:46,700 --> 00:54:47,700 my heart. 636 00:54:47,700 --> 00:54:51,020 I'm going to ask Jesus Christ to be merciful. 637 00:54:51,020 --> 00:54:55,420 Maybe there's some guys and some women, you'd say, you know, I haven't been wise. 638 00:54:55,420 --> 00:54:56,420 I haven't been right. 639 00:54:56,420 --> 00:54:58,060 No, I haven't been right. 640 00:54:58,060 --> 00:54:59,060 You can backslide. 641 00:54:59,060 --> 00:55:01,980 People point to the outward collapse. 642 00:55:01,980 --> 00:55:08,980 Let me tell you, long before the outward collapse, there's an inward dry rot. 643 00:55:08,980 --> 00:55:11,900 No man or woman suddenly went base. 644 00:55:11,900 --> 00:55:13,780 You say, Pastor, I need to get my heart right. 645 00:55:13,780 --> 00:55:17,380 I need to be saved or come back from backsliding. 646 00:55:17,380 --> 00:55:18,380 Here's my hand. 647 00:55:18,380 --> 00:55:19,380 Quickly raise your hand. 648 00:55:19,380 --> 00:55:20,380 All of this place. 649 00:55:20,380 --> 00:55:21,380 Quick. 650 00:55:21,380 --> 00:55:25,140 Anybody that God's dealing with, OK. 651 00:55:25,140 --> 00:55:26,140 You know what? 652 00:55:26,140 --> 00:55:27,140 There's a really large crowd. 653 00:55:27,140 --> 00:55:29,500 If you raise your hand, I want you to come quickly. 654 00:55:29,500 --> 00:55:32,320 You come, be honest, come. 655 00:55:32,320 --> 00:55:34,980 God will help an honest man or woman. 656 00:55:34,980 --> 00:55:35,980 Quickly come. 657 00:55:35,980 --> 00:55:38,300 If you raise your hand, I want you to come and respond. 658 00:55:38,300 --> 00:55:40,500 This altar, someone will help you. 659 00:55:40,500 --> 00:55:42,100 He will help you pray. 660 00:55:42,100 --> 00:55:45,260 But other than that, wonderful preaching this morning. 661 00:55:45,260 --> 00:55:50,740 Thank you for listening to the P.H.S.A. 662 00:55:50,740 --> 00:55:52,580 Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. 663 00:55:52,580 --> 00:55:57,260 Be sure to follow us on Instagram at pottershouse underscore salmon arm to keep up to date on 664 00:55:57,260 --> 00:55:58,260 what we are doing. 665 00:55:58,260 --> 00:56:12,260 Join the conversation and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize your life.