WEBVTT 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:07.759 Hey, welcome back here to the Seminarian. Another 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:09.980 week, another episode of our Bible study series. 00:00:10.580 --> 00:00:13.240 We call the Bible for Grownups. And tonight, 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:16.480 what we're going to do is begin a couple of part 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:23.839 series, which we look at how often we can fake 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:28.760 ourselves out, that we can put on a mask, that 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:33.729 we believed to be the truth. We look ourselves 00:00:33.729 --> 00:00:35.670 in the mirror and we think that it's true, but 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:40.049 everybody around us can see that we're deceiving 00:00:40.049 --> 00:00:43.409 ourselves. One of the things that we have to 00:00:43.409 --> 00:00:47.250 embrace during these next couple of weeks is 00:00:47.250 --> 00:00:53.890 the reality that you don't know what you don't 00:00:53.890 --> 00:01:00.799 know. I'll see you on the other side. Do you 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:05.280 guys mind if I go ahead and start? Oh, you should 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:09.340 have said yes. No, sorry, you answered the first 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:20.859 time no. It may have, but we'll never know. Hey 00:01:20.859 --> 00:01:24.480 guys, first I want to begin by thanking Eric 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:27.560 and Jordan for the spaghetti tonight. Thank you 00:01:27.560 --> 00:01:32.900 guys so much. And thank all of y 'all for coming. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:40.900 So tonight, I want to, again, I want to say this 00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:45.500 as many times as I can for a couple of reasons. 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:53.500 One, reminds myself. Two, hopefully you'll see 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:56.459 this as you and I are in a lot of the same boats 00:01:56.459 --> 00:02:01.739 together. And three, maybe you'll realize maybe 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:05.799 you're not alone in this particular struggle 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:08.139 because you've got at least one other person 00:02:08.139 --> 00:02:10.560 that you know of that goes through these kind 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:12.560 of struggles. So maybe you can identify with 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:16.000 that struggle as well. And this is one, again, 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:19.539 that while I'm standing at this podium speaking 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:23.759 loudly, this is as much to me, this is a sermon 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:27.770 or a lesson to me as it is to you. So let me 00:02:27.770 --> 00:02:31.610 begin by asking, or let me just asking of you. 00:02:31.650 --> 00:02:33.349 You don't have to answer, but I'm guessing a 00:02:33.349 --> 00:02:37.810 lot of you know somebody who has told a lie so 00:02:37.810 --> 00:02:41.030 many times that they actually have started to 00:02:41.030 --> 00:02:43.430 believe that that lie is actually the truth. 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:48.270 I'll say it doesn't even matter what side of 00:02:48.270 --> 00:02:50.250 the political fence you're on. You probably have 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:52.710 an opinion right now. Somebody you see on TV. 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:57.479 That lies so much that I think they believe it 00:02:57.479 --> 00:03:02.379 to be true. Self -deception is what that is, 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:06.659 right? Deceiving one's self. Like, let me do 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:11.060 this experiment. Again, just think. How many 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:15.319 of you would honestly say that for you, battling 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:21.699 self -deception is a significant problem? that 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:25.219 you acknowledge you're really deceived about 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:31.500 a lot of things. Some, maybe closer to none, 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:36.180 certainly not all, right? Let me ask you another 00:03:36.180 --> 00:03:39.580 question. I want you to think about not you now, 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:44.840 but other people. People that you know. People 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:47.919 that you know who may think they're good at something, 00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:53.319 but they're really not. Hey, I've heard most 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:59.439 of you sing. I can answer that question. They 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:03.620 may think that they don't have a problem, but 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:08.439 they really do, right? I bet everybody here might 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:12.020 raise their hand saying yes. I know at least 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:16.680 one other person that I would say is self -deceived. 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:22.519 That can't be true, right? Because we'd have 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:27.079 a statistical problem. We all know somebody like 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:31.019 that. But I want you to ask yourself, is it a 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:35.000 statistical problem? So few of us think of ourselves 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:38.259 as self -deceived, and yet almost all of us know 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:42.319 somebody else who is. Could it be perhaps that 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:47.660 we ourselves are self -deceived? Well, here's 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:49.980 kind of a thought for tonight I want us to kind 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:54.759 of use to guide us around this lesson. Those 00:04:54.759 --> 00:05:02.439 who don't know, don't know they don't know. Those 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:07.459 that don't know, don't know that they don't know. 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:13.410 Self -deception. So many of us... have an inaccurate 00:05:13.410 --> 00:05:16.430 view of ourselves because we can't see ourselves 00:05:16.430 --> 00:05:21.410 as other people do. And we fake it for so long 00:05:21.410 --> 00:05:25.689 we start to believe a lie that's really true. 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:29.589 Two things about self -deceit. The first one 00:05:29.589 --> 00:05:34.509 is this. We need to understand that the longer 00:05:34.509 --> 00:05:38.410 we view ourselves through a distorted lens, the 00:05:38.410 --> 00:05:42.399 more likely we are to begin to believe a distorted 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:49.720 truth. If we wear a mask and we look at ourselves 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:56.899 in the mirror with the mask, the longer we view 00:05:56.899 --> 00:05:59.240 ourselves through that distorted lens, the more 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.860 likely we are to believe in a distorted truth. 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.740 Let me begin in Psalm 36 tonight, verses 2 and 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:12.259 3. David. He's talking about the wicked whom 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:16.379 he says are very self -deceived. This is what 00:06:16.379 --> 00:06:21.220 he says. He says, for in their own eyes, they 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:26.360 flatter themselves too much to detect or hate 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:30.800 sin. Let's stop right there. They that flatter 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:36.329 themselves too much. There's, you know. I'm not 00:06:36.329 --> 00:06:38.329 that bad at this or I'm pretty good at this. 00:06:38.350 --> 00:06:42.769 Or more than likely, we would say, I don't have 00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:46.750 a problem with that. I mean, I've got it kind 00:06:46.750 --> 00:06:49.949 of going on. They flatter themselves so much 00:06:49.949 --> 00:06:55.550 that they can't even detect their own hate. I'm 00:06:55.550 --> 00:06:58.649 sorry, they can't detect or hate their own sin. 00:06:59.730 --> 00:07:02.790 And why is that important? Because we need to 00:07:02.790 --> 00:07:07.259 realize. We cannot hate a sin we don't detect. 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.360 This is so true for so many of us. We flatter 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:14.420 ourselves. I don't have a problem with this or 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:17.360 that. That's not that big of a deal. I mean, 00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:21.379 everybody else says that it's a problem, but 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:26.220 it's not a problem. I mean, they're the ones 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:32.550 that are all wrong. Not me. And we flatter ourselves 00:07:32.550 --> 00:07:38.050 so much that we cannot even detect, much less 00:07:38.050 --> 00:07:43.970 hate, our sin. And we flatter ourselves so much, 00:07:44.009 --> 00:07:50.250 it's not even on our radar. We don't even realize 00:07:50.250 --> 00:07:55.089 that we're lying to ourselves, that we have a 00:07:55.089 --> 00:08:00.170 significant sinful problem. We flatter ourselves 00:08:00.170 --> 00:08:03.050 so much we can't even detect, much less hate 00:08:03.050 --> 00:08:08.029 our own sin. The next verse, Psalm 36, verse 00:08:08.029 --> 00:08:13.209 3, says the words of their mouth are wicked and 00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:18.990 deceitful. And he or she has ceased to be wise 00:08:18.990 --> 00:08:24.089 and to do good. Self -deceit. Many of you know 00:08:24.089 --> 00:08:27.129 somebody like that. Often our self -deceit is... 00:08:27.370 --> 00:08:31.769 really rather harmless, right? Like I had just 00:08:31.769 --> 00:08:35.570 mentioned, but for example, we all, what do we 00:08:35.570 --> 00:08:38.649 like often, many of us, what do we like most 00:08:38.649 --> 00:08:42.129 about American Idol? The ones who get on stage 00:08:42.129 --> 00:08:45.769 completely convinced that they can sing, but 00:08:45.769 --> 00:08:51.710 they cannot at all, right? Have we ever noticed 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:55.029 the people that get on a show like that and think 00:08:55.029 --> 00:09:00.700 they can, Sing, but they can't? I can at least, 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.059 I don't know, this is not an area where I struggle 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:05.860 with self -deceit. I cannot sing, and I own it. 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:09.460 What I don't understand, though, is how all their 00:09:09.460 --> 00:09:14.080 moms think they can sing. And that their best 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:17.059 friends think they are great singers. I don't 00:09:17.059 --> 00:09:19.879 get, that's the part I don't get. That's insanity. 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:25.000 But it's really how many of us are. the way we're 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.399 self -deceived, even though it's rather harmless. 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:31.919 But when it comes to sin, if we cannot detect 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:36.559 our sin, that sin which we cannot detect, we 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:42.259 can't hate. If we can't detect it, we can't hate 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:46.860 it. As a result, we live lives in such a way 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:49.879 that destroy us and destroy the people around 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:55.009 us. Many of us flatter ourselves so much we don't 00:09:55.009 --> 00:10:00.570 even realize we're living in sin. Right? And 00:10:00.570 --> 00:10:04.649 people will warn us. Really, you know, you kind 00:10:04.649 --> 00:10:08.309 of battle with pride. No, I don't. I'm not proud. 00:10:09.490 --> 00:10:13.009 Right? I mean, it's just the simple truth that 00:10:13.009 --> 00:10:17.750 I'm better than everybody else at this. And the 00:10:17.750 --> 00:10:19.750 reason why I'm telling you is because this person 00:10:19.750 --> 00:10:23.340 is so messed up. They've got it completely wrong. 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:28.179 Right? This is the way God made me. So what's 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:31.759 wrong with being prideful? I can't help it if 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:34.899 I'm just simply better than everybody else around 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:39.019 me. Or someone might say, you know, you gossip 00:10:39.019 --> 00:10:43.480 a little bit. I don't gossip. I mean, I can't 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:45.700 help it if everybody else comes to me to tell 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:49.019 me all the news. And the only reason why I'm 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:52.039 telling you is because That situation's so messed 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:57.200 up, you need to be praying for them. Oh, and 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:59.460 by the way, I forgot to tell you this other juicy 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:05.940 bit of news. The gossip? I don't gossip. People 00:11:05.940 --> 00:11:08.860 might say, and I'm not looking at anybody specific, 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.860 you know, you're kind of rude. I'm not rude, 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:16.360 I just tell it like it is. The bottom line is 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:18.559 you've got problems, and if I point them out, 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:21.159 It's only because I care about you. I'm not being 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:23.519 rude. It's just that you're kind of, well, you're 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.860 a lot messed up. And I'm just telling you because 00:11:26.860 --> 00:11:30.740 I want to tell you. People flatter themselves 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:33.259 too much to detect our own sin, even hate it. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.840 And the longer that we view ourselves through 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:40.220 a distorted lens, the more likely we are to believe 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:45.100 distorted truths. Second thought about self -deceit 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:50.539 is this. Often, not always, But often, the more 00:11:50.539 --> 00:11:54.139 convinced you are that you're right, the more 00:11:54.139 --> 00:11:59.000 likely that you're wrong. Great example of this 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:02.379 we find in Christian scripture in the New Testament 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:06.080 would be the Pharisees. I mean, the Pharisees 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:08.480 really, really, really, really, really, really, 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:12.059 really believed that they were right. And they 00:12:12.059 --> 00:12:17.600 said, we dot every I. We cross every T. We follow 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:22.559 the law. Everybody else is wrong, but by golly, 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:27.440 we're right. And Jesus basically says to them 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:32.340 this. He says, you know the law, but you don't 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:36.840 know the God who made the law. So, you're wrong. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:39.960 And they fought with Jesus throughout scripture 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:42.620 over and over and over and again because they 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:45.860 believed they were convinced that they were right 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:48.340 about this. Another one, we talk about this one 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:50.120 all the time. This is kind of one of my favorites. 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:53.519 Another example was Peter, one of the 12 disciples. 00:12:53.659 --> 00:12:55.840 And Jesus says, I'm going to have to die on the 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:58.340 cross. And Peter was adamant that he was going 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:01.100 to stand by Jesus to the bitter end no matter 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:04.669 what. And in Matthew 26. Verse 33, Scripture 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:07.769 records these words. Peter replied, even if all 00:13:07.769 --> 00:13:10.250 the others fall away on the account of you, I 00:13:10.250 --> 00:13:12.750 never will. Jesus looked at him and said, if 00:13:12.750 --> 00:13:14.870 I tell you the truth, Peter, this very night 00:13:14.870 --> 00:13:16.730 before the rooster crows, you'll disown me three 00:13:16.730 --> 00:13:21.509 times. Peter was convinced he was not going to 00:13:21.509 --> 00:13:25.029 disown Jesus. And he declares even, even if I 00:13:25.029 --> 00:13:29.909 must die with you, I will never disown you. I'm 00:13:29.909 --> 00:13:34.320 your man. I got your back. I promise. And sometimes, 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:37.879 often, not always, but often, the more adamant 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:40.740 you are, you're right, the more likely that you 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:44.120 are to be deceived, right? Why? In this story, 00:13:44.259 --> 00:13:47.419 cock -a -doodle -doo. Before the rooster even 00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:50.340 crowed, Peter denied Jesus three separate times 00:13:50.340 --> 00:13:54.759 because he was self -deceived. When do we see 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:59.240 it? We see it oftentimes when everybody else 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:02.720 will say, you know, You really have a problem 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:06.320 with this or that. And then the person responds, 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:09.320 maybe you. I don't have a problem with this or 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:13.139 that. I could quit at any time. I don't know 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:16.820 what you're talking about. Well, we really think 00:14:16.820 --> 00:14:19.179 you have a problem trying to control everything. 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:22.480 I'm not a control freak. You just don't understand. 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:27.279 Everybody else does things wrong, and I don't 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.419 like the way that you said that. You should have 00:14:30.419 --> 00:14:33.419 said it this way, and I'll just do it my own 00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:36.299 way. I'm not a control freak. What's your problem? 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.200 Sometimes the more adamant, the more defensive 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.159 we are about this, the more likely we are to 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:46.200 be self -deceived. Scripture teaches us, in his 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:48.519 eyes he flatters himself too much to detect hate 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:52.240 or hate his sin. So what I want to do is really 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:58.679 challenge you and me. Because I know some of 00:14:58.679 --> 00:15:04.980 you right now, it's so easy to think, oh, I hope 00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:12.639 so -and -so will hear this. Or I so hope so -and 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:16.159 -so was with me right now. I wish my teenage 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:19.179 daughter could hear this right now. But what 00:15:19.179 --> 00:15:22.220 I really want to do is have you listen to this 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:26.240 from your perspective and ask God, what do you 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:31.340 want this to specifically say to me? I want to 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:34.840 give you three steps, three biblical truths to 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:38.500 live in the truth in a way in which we might 00:15:38.500 --> 00:15:42.559 overcome deception. The first thing that I would 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:46.179 encourage you to do, number one, is pray. To 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:52.230 really ask God. Is there anything in me that 00:15:52.230 --> 00:15:57.649 I don't see as truth? In fact, David in the Old 00:15:57.649 --> 00:16:00.090 Testament says this. Many of you have heard this 00:16:00.090 --> 00:16:02.950 verse before. Some of you might even have it 00:16:02.950 --> 00:16:05.370 up on a little plaque in your bathroom or something. 00:16:05.809 --> 00:16:10.870 Psalm 139, 23 and 24. David prayed this very 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:15.509 dangerous and very piercing prayer. David prayed, 00:16:15.649 --> 00:16:21.240 search me, O God. And know my heart. Test me. 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:27.000 And know my serious thoughts. Verse 24, this 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:31.120 is so powerful. He prayed, see if there is any, 00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:37.679 any, any offensive way in me and lead me in the 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:41.720 way of everlasting. But I want to challenge all 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:44.809 of us to do this week. When we're thinking about 00:16:44.809 --> 00:16:47.529 this, when we're talking perhaps to our friends 00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:49.549 or family about this, I would challenge you to 00:16:49.549 --> 00:16:51.809 make this prayer part of your daily prayer life. 00:16:53.250 --> 00:16:58.350 Just pray Psalm 139. Just ask God, is there anything 00:16:58.350 --> 00:17:03.250 in me? Is there anything in me that I don't know 00:17:03.250 --> 00:17:06.789 about? Is there anything? Is there something 00:17:06.789 --> 00:17:09.970 that everybody else has been trying to tell me? 00:17:10.029 --> 00:17:12.609 And for whatever reason, I just haven't heard 00:17:12.609 --> 00:17:16.660 it. God. Will you reveal it to me? Search me, 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:21.599 O God. Know my heart. Show me. Is there any offensive 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:25.319 way in me? Lead me in the way of everlasting. 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:29.299 Pray and sincerely ask God if he would show you 00:17:29.299 --> 00:17:32.079 anything that is displeasing to him. And this 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.119 is one of my favorite things to do whenever I 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:36.220 talk about sometimes specific prayers to you 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:39.759 because one of my favorite things to do is to... 00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:43.430 is to tell you to pray for things I know for 00:17:43.430 --> 00:17:47.750 sure God will answer you. I love that. You know, 00:17:47.789 --> 00:17:51.569 I don't know about your prayers about grandma. 00:17:51.730 --> 00:17:54.029 I don't know what he's going to do. It's his 00:17:54.029 --> 00:17:56.329 plan. I don't know about your marriage, with 00:17:56.329 --> 00:17:57.430 your prayers for your marriage. I don't know 00:17:57.430 --> 00:18:00.369 what's in God's hands, right? I don't know what 00:18:00.369 --> 00:18:02.190 the answer is going to be or if an answer comes. 00:18:02.789 --> 00:18:04.950 I love telling you about some prayers you can 00:18:04.950 --> 00:18:07.009 pray, pray that if you actually do it, I can 00:18:07.009 --> 00:18:13.319 guarantee you. For example, pray to God to give 00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:17.960 you a generous eye. Pray sincerely every day 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:21.700 for God to give you an eye for generosity to 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:25.980 share, to provide, to give something to someone 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:28.839 else, to live an other -centered life. I can 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:31.940 guarantee you that if you pray that with actual, 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.799 honest sincerity, God will answer that prayer. 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:39.700 Now, you're selfish, you. might not like the 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:42.640 answer to that prayer, but you will get one. 00:18:43.079 --> 00:18:46.519 And this is another one. This is another prayer. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.079 I can guarantee you that if you pray with honest 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.339 sincerity, God will answer. You might not like 00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:56.619 the answer, but you will get one. Search me, 00:18:56.680 --> 00:19:00.140 O God. Know my heart. Is there any offensive 00:19:00.140 --> 00:19:04.519 way in me? And lead me in the way of everlasting. 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:08.059 The reason why I can make that promise to you 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:12.200 is because every single one of us, we are all 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:18.259 self -deceived in some way. Every one of us, 00:19:18.299 --> 00:19:21.539 we are all flattering ourselves too much to detect 00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:25.259 or hate some sin in our life. And if you ask 00:19:25.259 --> 00:19:28.819 God this on the reg, search my heart, oh God, 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:32.339 show me any offensive way, you watch as God will 00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:37.839 provide the truth to you. So pray. Second thing 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.039 that I would like to encourage you to do is listen. 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:46.240 Don't just listen to God, but listen to God speaking 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:50.500 through people. People who love you and care 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:55.420 about you. Scripture says in the book of Proverbs 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:59.019 15 and 31, Scripture says, He who listens to 00:19:59.019 --> 00:20:02.579 a life -giving rebuke will be at home among the 00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:09.359 wise. He or she listens to a life -giving rebuke. 00:20:09.619 --> 00:20:12.759 That's a beautiful phrase to me, life -giving 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:19.000 rebuke. Now, there are people who have almost 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:25.299 a spiritual gift in rebukes that sound rude and 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:29.640 of none of your business or concern. There are 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:31.539 also people in our lives, because they love, 00:20:31.619 --> 00:20:35.190 because they care about us, can offer us, God 00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:39.990 working through them, life -giving rebukes. In 00:20:39.990 --> 00:20:42.309 fact, many of us need to obey God's direction 00:20:42.309 --> 00:20:46.349 and love that someone else loves us enough to 00:20:46.349 --> 00:20:51.390 give us that rebuke. Right? We might be on the 00:20:51.390 --> 00:20:55.089 other end of that. We might need to honestly 00:20:55.089 --> 00:20:58.349 add to our prayer that this life -giving rebuke 00:20:58.349 --> 00:21:03.200 is claimed. There's someone you care about that's 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:06.559 doing something stupid. Maybe it's affecting 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:09.579 their marriage. Right? They've got a problem. 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:13.680 Because you love them, right? You have to go 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:17.500 to them. You can't go down this road. Right? 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:21.279 I love you too much to see you destroy this thing 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:24.859 that God has put together to see you destroyed. 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:30.799 That's a life -giving rebuke. Right? There are 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:34.140 people who have all kinds of messed up marriages 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:38.500 because we create a family because of some hope 00:21:38.500 --> 00:21:41.539 of a dream, right? And then we end up looking 00:21:41.539 --> 00:21:48.079 around for somebody else. Sometimes we just pray 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:50.079 for those people. No, sometimes we need to get 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.180 in the middle of it and love them enough to say, 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:56.259 I'm going to stand between you and your stupidity. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.599 Because I love you enough, I'm going to try to 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:02.480 stand between you and this sin. I love you too 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:05.180 much to go down this road. I love you too much 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:09.700 to allow you to destroy your life. In the body 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:12.200 of Christ, there are times that God will call 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:15.339 us to love someone enough to give them a life 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:18.940 -giving rebuke. Some of you need to give one. 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:21.720 Others of you, all of us, a time or another, 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:26.390 need to receive one. Scripture says this as we 00:22:26.390 --> 00:22:29.930 go on, verse 32. He or she who ignores discipline 00:22:29.930 --> 00:22:34.450 despises themselves. But whoever heeds correction 00:22:34.450 --> 00:22:40.430 gains understanding. Pray, number one, and listen. 00:22:41.190 --> 00:22:44.029 Listen to those people who love you enough or 00:22:44.029 --> 00:22:47.029 are trying to tell you something. Here is the 00:22:47.029 --> 00:22:49.509 deal. If you're looking for a rule of thumb in 00:22:49.509 --> 00:22:53.410 your life, take my word for it. Honest Jim up 00:22:53.410 --> 00:22:57.130 here, right? If more than one person that loves 00:22:57.130 --> 00:22:59.089 you tells you you've got a problem with something, 00:22:59.230 --> 00:23:03.250 you've got a problem with something. If more 00:23:03.250 --> 00:23:05.890 than one person who loves you tells you you have 00:23:05.890 --> 00:23:08.789 a problem with this or that, you have a problem 00:23:08.789 --> 00:23:14.150 with that. You need to listen. It could be all 00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:17.309 sorts of things. Maybe, you know, the first thing 00:23:17.309 --> 00:23:22.109 we kind of jump to is pornography or substance 00:23:22.109 --> 00:23:26.269 abuse. gambling stuff, the really ugly stuff, 00:23:26.509 --> 00:23:29.430 right? You might have a couple people that love 00:23:29.430 --> 00:23:31.130 you come up and say, you know what? You're tanning 00:23:31.130 --> 00:23:36.390 too much. You look like a suitcase. You think 00:23:36.390 --> 00:23:39.250 that looks good? It doesn't. You smell like burnt 00:23:39.250 --> 00:23:46.349 toast. Listen to people who love you. And what 00:23:46.349 --> 00:23:50.109 you have to do is you have to create an environment 00:23:50.109 --> 00:23:52.599 where Someone will tell you the truth because 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:55.759 maybe you've been stiff -arming them for so long 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:57.779 that they don't even want to tell you that anymore. 00:23:59.339 --> 00:24:01.759 Pray, search me, oh God, show me an offensive 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:05.640 way in me. Listen also to what others say. And 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:11.480 then, what is a God or a loved one, what is God, 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:14.079 sorry, or a loved one trying to tell you? What 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:18.769 is God trying to show you? What is God trying 00:24:18.769 --> 00:24:22.549 to show you perhaps through someone else? Some 00:24:22.549 --> 00:24:24.690 of us could, if we had pen to paper, we could 00:24:24.690 --> 00:24:29.230 answer that right away. I know my problem. I 00:24:29.230 --> 00:24:31.829 know. I acknowledge it in this moment of clarity 00:24:31.829 --> 00:24:36.950 and of individual integrity. I see it. I'm deceived. 00:24:37.329 --> 00:24:39.710 I'm wearing a mask and I need to take it off. 00:24:40.269 --> 00:24:42.829 Maybe for some of you others, maybe you can't 00:24:42.829 --> 00:24:45.450 quite see it, but you're going to be a little 00:24:45.450 --> 00:24:48.670 bit. More like me, maybe a little bit more hard 00:24:48.670 --> 00:24:50.869 -headed. This is going to take a little longer. 00:24:52.009 --> 00:24:56.349 And that's okay too. The answer to these questions 00:24:56.349 --> 00:24:59.430 tonight do not have to be automatic. For some 00:24:59.430 --> 00:25:03.250 of us, they very well might be. But others, we're 00:25:03.250 --> 00:25:05.089 going to need a little bit more work. And as 00:25:05.089 --> 00:25:08.430 you pray and as you listen, over time, God will 00:25:08.430 --> 00:25:12.190 show you. And for those of us that are a little... 00:25:12.589 --> 00:25:15.910 Thick -headed, God will show you again and again 00:25:15.910 --> 00:25:19.049 and again different ways that you're wearing 00:25:19.049 --> 00:25:24.150 this mask. So let's drop the mask. And number 00:25:24.150 --> 00:25:28.529 three is this. When God shows whatever it is 00:25:28.529 --> 00:25:35.950 to you, change. Change. When God shows you an 00:25:35.950 --> 00:25:37.930 area of your life that you've been living a lie 00:25:37.930 --> 00:25:41.089 so long you've even fooled yourself, change. 00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:46.859 Now, again, here's some good news. For some of 00:25:46.859 --> 00:25:51.200 you, this might happen today. You're going to 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:55.559 make a decision. I see it. This is going to be 00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:59.400 different from right now. And boom. And you know 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:02.180 what? Your life might never be the same again. 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:07.579 You're going to be more intimate with God. People 00:26:07.579 --> 00:26:10.920 around you are going to be like. This is great. 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:17.619 You've made a great decision. Others of us, it's 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:21.859 a process. Because we've been believing that 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:26.039 lie for so long. But that change, even though 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:29.279 it's a process, that change can start today. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:35.519 Here's the key. Scripture says this. No one says 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:38.599 it better than James in chapter 1, 22 of his 00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:43.980 letter. Do not merely listen to the word and 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:49.400 so deceive yourselves. You know how we kind of 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:51.299 do that. Man, if we could just get that one thing 00:26:51.299 --> 00:26:54.359 right. This is one of those. Great. If we could 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:57.920 just get this one thing right. Don't just merely 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:01.440 listen to this. I'm looking around and I've just 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:05.380 about seen everybody at some point go in agreement, 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:09.470 right? Okay, then we're pretty much agreeing 00:27:09.470 --> 00:27:12.009 that what we're talking about here, we agree 00:27:12.009 --> 00:27:15.369 to be true. Well, don't just listen to this and 00:27:15.369 --> 00:27:19.109 feel better about yourself. That's not how it 00:27:19.109 --> 00:27:22.990 works, right? And if you do, if you listen to 00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:24.910 this and go, oh, that was great. I feel so much 00:27:24.910 --> 00:27:27.869 better about myself. And keep on living the lie 00:27:27.869 --> 00:27:31.569 and allowing yourself to be deceived. That's 00:27:31.569 --> 00:27:33.769 exactly what you're doing. You're continuing 00:27:33.769 --> 00:27:39.210 to lie to yourself. And many of us, the Spirit 00:27:39.210 --> 00:27:41.630 of God might just be about ready to speak to 00:27:41.630 --> 00:27:46.470 you. Revealed truth. The truth of God. And maybe 00:27:46.470 --> 00:27:49.470 the truth of God in your life is that you have 00:27:49.470 --> 00:27:52.490 areas in which you are living in direct rebellion 00:27:52.490 --> 00:27:55.170 to that truth of God. And you have been faking 00:27:55.170 --> 00:27:59.309 it. You have been thinking it is okay. But it's 00:27:59.309 --> 00:28:06.450 not okay. And God might be pulling that mask 00:28:06.450 --> 00:28:11.089 off. Why is it? Why is it that we are so afraid 00:28:11.089 --> 00:28:14.329 to drop that mask, to stop living behind the 00:28:14.329 --> 00:28:19.190 lie? Because I think, because we're often afraid 00:28:19.190 --> 00:28:25.690 of what the truth is. And it's ironic. Because 00:28:25.690 --> 00:28:28.269 in John 8 and 32, Scripture says, you'll know 00:28:28.269 --> 00:28:32.710 the truth and the truth will set you free. The 00:28:32.710 --> 00:28:36.099 truth is a person. Risen Son of God, the Lord 00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:38.119 Jesus Christ, who said, I'm the way, the truth, 00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:40.460 and the life. And you've heard us talk about 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.660 here on Wednesday nights that our spiritual enemy 00:28:42.660 --> 00:28:48.440 is the father of lies. He wants us to hide behind 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:52.099 the lies so long that we begin to believe those 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:54.859 lies as if they're actually true. As it will 00:28:54.859 --> 00:28:58.359 affect our lives as if it really is true. But 00:28:58.359 --> 00:29:04.700 it's fake. It's a fraud. We need to remove the 00:29:04.700 --> 00:29:07.759 lies. Embrace the risen Son of God, the Lord 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:10.779 Jesus Christ, because He is the truth. And this 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:16.619 truth will set us free. Amen? Amen. Thanks, guys. 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:26.000 Any questions? Thanks. Well, what do you think? 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:32.829 Are we stuck with a statistical problem? Are 00:29:32.829 --> 00:29:35.930 we stuck with a reality that somehow or another, 00:29:36.190 --> 00:29:42.410 everybody around us is self -deceived except 00:29:42.410 --> 00:29:50.529 for us? Or if we're adult and we're rational 00:29:50.529 --> 00:29:57.450 and we're logical, we react with a personal integrity, 00:29:57.890 --> 00:30:05.509 aren't we really? seeing that maybe each and 00:30:05.509 --> 00:30:11.250 every one of us struggles with self -deception 00:30:11.250 --> 00:30:17.430 and as a result maybe we have deceived ourselves 00:30:17.430 --> 00:30:21.789 so long that we continue to sin in areas of our 00:30:21.789 --> 00:30:24.730 lives and yet we have convinced ourselves somehow 00:30:24.730 --> 00:30:29.640 or another that it is okay. Because a sin that 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:34.539 we can't detect, we can't hate. As a result, 00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:41.359 we continue to live with it. Sometimes, very 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:46.579 often, leading us down various paths of personal 00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:55.480 and communal destruction. I know that it sounds... 00:30:56.519 --> 00:31:00.960 overdramatic, melodramatic maybe, but it's real. 00:31:02.859 --> 00:31:08.220 Whenever we look back on our lives as we see 00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:11.339 our past mistakes in ways in which we've actually 00:31:11.339 --> 00:31:15.420 contributed to the destruction of our lives and 00:31:15.420 --> 00:31:17.660 the relationships of those around us, do you 00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:21.779 not suspect that we at that moment won't think 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:28.170 that it's real? Anyway, It's something to certainly 00:31:28.170 --> 00:31:33.690 think about. Until next week, friend. Be blessed.