WEBVTT

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Let's pray together. Thank you, Father, for this

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meaningful time of worshiping you and ministry

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to your glory. Thank you for the opportunity

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to minister to one another as we worship you.

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And I pray that now as we look at your word,

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your spirit will continue to be our teacher and

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our hearts would be open and pliable to what

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you want to say and do in our lives. In Jesus'

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name, amen. Pity the person who doesn't realize

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that life is a battlefield and not a rose garden.

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The concept of battle is a familiar metaphor

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that Paul uses in his writings in the New Testament.

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I invite you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1,

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where we see him using it yet again at the end

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of this chapter in our study for today. This

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command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son. in

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accordance with the prophecies previously made

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concerning you, that by them you might fight

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the good fight, keeping faith in a good conscience

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which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck

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in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus

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and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to

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Satan so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

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Being a consistent Christian or being a Biblical

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church is not an easy job in a world like we

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live in. It involves a struggle. It involves

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a battle. It is not automatic. The enemy of our

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souls is always inventing schemes to sidetrack

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us, to get us off course with regards to our

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faith and our mission. But if we will pay attention

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to what Paul says in these verses to Timothy,

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we will all know better how to stay on course

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with our personal lives and with advancing Christ's

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Church and God's purpose in the world. And after

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all, isn't that what life is all about really?

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It isn't about all the things that we get involved

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in so often. Life is truly about knowing the

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will of God. serving Jesus Christ and His purpose

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in the world. We've been talking about the importance

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of staying on course and we have said in this

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first chapter of 1st Timothy that we do that

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by first knowing the route that God has laid

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out for us on our navigational chart verses 1

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through 11. Then we stay on course secondly,

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verses 12 through 17, by trusting the captain.

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Today we're going to learn that we stay on course

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spiritually as long as we maintain our spiritual

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instruments. There are four of these instruments

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that God gives to us in our text today. Each

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one of them has a related question that I've

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identified with it to help us think through whether

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we are using these instruments to stay on track

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in our lives. Now Paul knew Timothy, of course,

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to be on track and confidently entrusted to Timothy

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an important responsibility. On the other hand,

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Paul knew two men who had failed to stay on track.

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Their names are Hymenaeus and Alexander. How

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is it that Timothy stayed on track when there

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were others who made shipwreck. We'd better pay

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attention to this because in our world today

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it is easier than ever before to wreck the ship

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of our lives. How do we stay on course? By using

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the four instruments that God exposes to us in

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the text. The first instrument is that of relationships.

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Here's the question. In the course of my life

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As I am determining the direction that I will

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take, the values I will hold, what do my godly

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friends tell me? We do realize, don't we, that

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having that kind of relationship with others

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is not optional or peripheral, but that rather

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it's crucial and central to our staying on course.

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Paul had that kind of relationship with Timothy.

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He addresses him as Timothy, my son. Do you see

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the pathos there? Do you see the relationship

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that is involved in those three words? I want

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to present to you this morning the fact that

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one of the things that kept Timothy on course

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in his life was his relationship with the Apostle

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Paul. In another place he says of Timothy, he

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is my beloved son in the faith. Relationships

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are one instrument that God uses to keep us on

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track in life. We who have believed in Jesus

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Christ and who are therefore the children of

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God are made to be interdependent. on others.

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God has made us to be members of the Church of

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Jesus Christ. Not only in the universal sense

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we're part of that church but he's made us to

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be members of a local church. You look at any

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analogy nearly that Paul uses of the church in

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the New Testament you see interrelationships

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as being understood as a part of it. A body,

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we're members of the body. The temple of God

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we are stones that are built together. as a holy

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temple in the Lord. An army? We are soldiers

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of Jesus Christ who serve a commanding officer.

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You see, the whole idea of being interdependent

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is built into the very concepts of who we are

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in Jesus Christ. Now that runs counter to our

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American thinking, doesn't it? Because in America

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we value self -sufficiency and independence.

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And yet God has called us to be an interdependent

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people. As the trio sang a few moments ago. We

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need others who will say to us and to whom we

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will say, I want you to know I will be a friend

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to see you through. I will walk the extra mile.

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We need people like that in our lives. I do,

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and you do. These relationships must be with

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godly people though. Those who have a mindset

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that is biblical. If we have counselors and friends

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and relationships with unsafe people who are

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giving us direction for our lives, that direction

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will inevitably take us off course. Because those

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who do not know Jesus Christ, who do not share

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our values, who do not have the biblical worldview,

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cannot give us direction. We must have relationships

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with other believers who are godly people. What

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is required in order to have this instrument

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working in order in our lives? First of all,

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the cultivation of these kinds of friends. That

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takes time. That takes time. And that's a big

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problem. Because most of us think we don't have

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time for this. But I'll tell you what, we've

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got time to make shipwreck. And once we've hit

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the rocks, we'll have time then to have to deal

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with the tragedies and the sorrows. We'll have

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time then. How much better up front to make the

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time in our lives to develop and cultivate godly

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friends who can serve as one instrument in our

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lives to help keep us on track. When we've cultivated

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these friendships, we have to be willing to listen.

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Our friends can't tell us necessarily God's will.

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We have to weigh what they say in the light of

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other factors, but we must never neglect their

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input. Be willing to weigh it. before God and

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then be willing to change when that's appropriate.

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What do my godly friends tell me? That is an

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important question to keep us on track. And when

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our godly friends spot in us an area where we

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are straying off course we have to be willing

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to listen to what they're saying for our own

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good. Frank Coke or Cook. K .O .C .H. wrote about

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an experience of his in Proceedings, a magazine

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of the Naval Institute. Perhaps you've heard

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this before. He says, two battleships assigned

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to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers

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in heavy weather for several days. I was serving

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on the lead battleship and was on watch on the

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bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor

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with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the

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bridge. keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly

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after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge

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reported light bearing on the starboard bow.

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The captain called out, is it a steady light

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or is it moving a stern? The lookout replied,

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steady captain, which meant that we were on a

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dangerous collision course with another ship.

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The captain then called to the signal man, signal

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that ship. We are on a collision course. Advise

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that you change course 20 degrees." Back came

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the signal, advisable for you to change course

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20 degrees. The captain said, send, I am a captain.

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Change course 20 degrees. Back came the reply,

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I am a seaman second class. You'd better change

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course 20 degrees. By that time, the captain

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was furious. He spat out, Send, I am a battleship.

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Change course, 20 degrees. Back came the flashing

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light, I am a lighthouse. We changed course.

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We need those lighthouses. And we need to listen

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when the lighthouse says, you're on a collision

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course. Are you maintaining this instrument in

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your life? Do you have godly friends? Do you

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have somebody to call? You say, well, no one's

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ever come to me and established that kind of

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relationship. That isn't the question. The question

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is, have you gone to somebody? Have you taken

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the time? Have you initiated? We need relationships.

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That's one of the crucial instruments. that God

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gives us to stay on track. A second one is recollection.

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What has God said in the past is the question.

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Now in Timothy's case, there were some prophecies

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that had been given regarding him. Whether these

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were said of Timothy at his ordination or whether

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they were received by Paul as he contemplated

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asking Timothy to join his team, we don't know.

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But this much we know. Timothy knew of these

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prophecies. He knew what had been said about

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him. And now Paul says to him, remember what

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was said about you. Recall, recollect the past

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leading of God. Someone has said, never doubt

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the past leading of God. It's easy to second

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guess, isn't it? It's easy to look back in your

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life and say, but what if I had done this or

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done that? When at that time we had made a decision

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before God that we thought was right. When that's

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the case, when we in the past have made a decision,

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when we have sensed God's voice, when we have

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seen God's leading in a certain direction, a

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wise principle is never doubt God's past leading.

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That helps keep us on track. The common problem

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that all of us have though is that we're good

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forgetters. Like somebody said, I never remember

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a name but I always forget a face. It's kind

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of how we are. We have to remember the people

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of God in the Old Testament had blessing after

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blessing upon them but as the psalm says in Psalm

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106 verse 13, then they forgot. Then they forgot.

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That's why some of the men of the Promise Keepers

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at a meeting in August went over to the backyard

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next door here and put a pile of stones together

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to remember what God said to them. Peter says,

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to us, stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance,

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which is a way of saying, hey, wake up. You've

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forgotten something important. And Paul says

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to Timothy, I remind you to stir afresh the gift

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of God. We all need reminders. So when we examine

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the course of our lives, we have to check the

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instrument of recall. What has God said to me?

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Or how has God led me in the past? That will

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be a part of my staying on course in the present.

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Are you maintaining a good recollection of how

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God has led in the past? Or have you forgotten

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God's voice, God's calling in your life? In 25

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years of ministry, there's only been one time

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when I've forgotten that God called me to ministry.

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And I ask the question seriously, do I want to

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remain in ministry or go into business? We have

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to remember how God has led us and what His calling

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is and allow that to be one instrument, not the

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only one, but one instrument that will help us

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determine whether or not we are on course. There's

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a third instrument. I'm terming it reason. And

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the question that goes with this is what does

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my belief system argue? Paul says that Timothy

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is to keep a hold of faith. Now faith here is

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not the sense in which we sang, "'Tis so sweet

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to trust in Jesus." Faith here refers to Timothy's

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doctrine, that body of truth that he believed,

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his system of belief. Paul says to Timothy, keep

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a hold of what you believe about God, your faith.

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What does your belief system argue as you think

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about the course of your life? Someone has said

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God gave us a brain to use not to play with Sam

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Goldwyn said if I look confused, it's because

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I'm thinking Have you ever felt that way? There

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are two ways for us to slide through life easily

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one is to believe everything and the other is

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to doubt everything because both courses save

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us from thinking. Underneath the skull in our

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heads is a key organ that God has put into our

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bodies. It's called the brain. God expects us

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to use it. As we think about the course of our

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lives, God wants us to bring to our minds what

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we believe about God. what we believe about values,

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what we believe about ourselves, what we believe

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about others, what our priorities are. He wants

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us to think and as we reason this through, as

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we argue with ourselves about the right course,

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as we hang on to what we believe, our belief

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system, it will be one way that God directs us.

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We need to keep running the course of our lives

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through the grid of what we believe to be true.

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And as we do that, that course will be altered.

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It will be corrected. Let me give you an example

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or two of this. One is in Psalm 56, where David

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shares with us a difficult time in his life.

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The course of his life was pretty tough. Because

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he says in verse 1, Oh God, man has trampled

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upon me. Have you ever felt that way? Like people

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were walking all over your life? You're a doormat

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for everybody? David was something like that.

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He says fighting all day long oppresses me. He

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lays before God here his concerns. And then,

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as he does this, he knows that God is compassionate.

00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:56.099
He says in verse 8, Thou hast taken account of

00:18:56.099 --> 00:18:59.759
my wanderings. Put my tears in thy bottle. Are

00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:03.680
they not all in thy book? Then my enemies will

00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:07.079
turn back in the day when I call. And he says,

00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:14.190
This I know, that God is for me. Now there's

00:19:14.190 --> 00:19:19.009
his belief system. In the midst of this difficult

00:19:19.009 --> 00:19:21.589
journey he is on, in the course of his life,

00:19:21.930 --> 00:19:29.690
what helped David stay on track? It was his recall

00:19:29.690 --> 00:19:34.869
of God's promise to be with him. He believed

00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:39.630
that. That was part of his instrumentation. And

00:19:39.630 --> 00:19:42.730
as he argued with himself about what was happening

00:19:42.730 --> 00:19:46.069
in his life, he said, despite all of these things

00:19:46.069 --> 00:19:49.829
happening to me, I know this. It's in my brain.

00:19:50.769 --> 00:19:54.490
God is for me. He's not against me. That's good

00:19:54.490 --> 00:19:57.609
to remember. It's true for you and me this morning

00:19:57.609 --> 00:20:01.529
too. Turn over just quickly to another example

00:20:01.529 --> 00:20:06.450
in Psalm 73. Here we have Asaph who is writing.

00:20:08.009 --> 00:20:12.329
And he has a problem. He is looking around him

00:20:12.329 --> 00:20:15.430
in his day and he saw that the people who had

00:20:15.430 --> 00:20:20.609
everything were the ungodly. He could not understand

00:20:20.609 --> 00:20:25.069
how they prospered and people who were righteous

00:20:25.069 --> 00:20:30.150
had so little. He describes in poetic language

00:20:30.150 --> 00:20:34.490
what they look like to him. How they bulge and

00:20:34.490 --> 00:20:39.180
how they sit in pride and they... They mock and

00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:44.539
they oppress. And down in verse 15 he says, if

00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:48.599
I had said, I will speak thus, behold I should

00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:51.640
have betrayed the children, the generation of

00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.779
thy children. He said, this is so puzzling to

00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:57.200
me. If I talked about it, I might cause others

00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.180
to be confused. But he says in verse 16, when

00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:04.299
I pondered to understand this, this perplexing

00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:08.259
problem, It was troublesome in my sight until

00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:14.460
I came into the sanctuary of God, then I perceived

00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:19.559
their end. That is the destiny of the ungodly.

00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:26.660
He was perplexed and confused. But when he thought

00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:29.779
about what he believed about God, when he remembered

00:21:29.779 --> 00:21:33.900
what God said, Then suddenly everything came

00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:36.940
into focus. The fog cleared and he remained on

00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:39.839
course. He didn't shipwreck because of this problem.

00:21:41.220 --> 00:21:45.000
Is this instrument working in your life? Are

00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.039
you running the course of your life through your

00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:52.380
belief system? As you examine your course, let

00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:56.339
your mind reason and analyze the facts of it

00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:59.759
all through the grid of what you believe about

00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:03.769
God. about the world, about values and priorities.

00:22:05.450 --> 00:22:07.730
This instrument has to be in good working order

00:22:07.730 --> 00:22:11.789
or we're in trouble. There's a final instrument

00:22:11.789 --> 00:22:14.269
that is given to us that will keep us on track

00:22:14.269 --> 00:22:19.970
and that is what I'm calling resonance. The question

00:22:19.970 --> 00:22:23.170
is what does the voice of conscience say because

00:22:23.170 --> 00:22:26.529
Paul says to Timothy you must also lay hold of

00:22:26.529 --> 00:22:31.390
and keep your hands on a good conscience. Milton

00:22:31.390 --> 00:22:38.309
called conscience the umpire of the soul. Conscience

00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:40.930
is condensed character. It's what you believe

00:22:40.930 --> 00:22:45.069
about the values of life, what's right and what's

00:22:45.069 --> 00:22:49.809
wrong. All of us have a conscience. Part of the

00:22:49.809 --> 00:22:52.269
fact that we're human is that we are self aware.

00:22:53.549 --> 00:22:55.490
That's different than the animals of the world.

00:22:56.430 --> 00:23:00.700
We are aware of ourselves and we can We can stand

00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:03.460
outside of ourselves as it were and look at us.

00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:06.980
We can argue with ourselves and conscience plays

00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:11.519
a part in that. Conscience passes judgment on

00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:15.700
our thoughts, actions, words, emotions, our state

00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:20.359
of being. Romans 2 verses 14 and 15 says that

00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.519
the conscience will either approve or condemn

00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:28.900
us. But not all consciences are equal. There

00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:31.299
is such a thing as a good conscience that knows

00:23:31.299 --> 00:23:36.859
right and wrong. William Penn said, right is

00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:41.539
right even if everyone is against it. Wrong is

00:23:41.539 --> 00:23:47.720
wrong even if everyone is for it. There is right

00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:50.119
and wrong and the conscience, a good conscience,

00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:54.119
will expose that to us. But Paul warns in chapter

00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:58.600
4 about what he calls a seared conscience. Verse

00:23:58.600 --> 00:24:02.319
2, a conscience that has lost its sensitivity,

00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:08.279
that has been cauterized as it were, so that

00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:13.079
it cannot give right and wrong. What is it that

00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:16.299
causes it to be cauterized like with a hot iron?

00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:19.960
It is that the conscience has been overridden

00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:24.000
so many times. Someone has said, harken to the

00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:26.200
voice of conscience if you would not feel its

00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:30.769
wounds. And yet it is possible not to listen

00:24:30.769 --> 00:24:33.769
to the conscience and to override it and to pay

00:24:33.769 --> 00:24:36.309
no heed to it and the result of that is that

00:24:36.309 --> 00:24:38.829
after a while the conscience just gets seared

00:24:38.829 --> 00:24:41.230
so that it doesn't do its work. Paul says, Timothy,

00:24:41.589 --> 00:24:46.230
you have to keep a good conscience. You have

00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:48.369
to keep your conscience in good working order.

00:24:48.789 --> 00:24:52.950
How do we do that? By bringing our conscience

00:24:52.950 --> 00:24:57.410
constantly before God. So that when it begins

00:24:57.410 --> 00:25:00.230
to reverberate and echo a voice inside of us

00:25:00.230 --> 00:25:04.289
and we hear this resonance What we hear is good.

00:25:04.710 --> 00:25:08.849
It's accurate It's functioning without a glitz

00:25:08.849 --> 00:25:12.910
in it Because it's been tested by God's standards

00:25:12.910 --> 00:25:15.190
of right and wrong and it therefore reflects

00:25:15.190 --> 00:25:20.170
to us what is true a good conscience So these

00:25:20.170 --> 00:25:23.230
are the instruments that God tells us to maintain

00:25:23.230 --> 00:25:27.440
relationships We believe in that so much as a

00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:29.440
church that we've made that one of our key strategies.

00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.059
We believe that if we're going to be a church,

00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:36.900
we have to have good relationships, supporting

00:25:36.900 --> 00:25:43.759
caring groups of people and selves. It's critical.

00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:48.940
Recollection, remembering, recalling to our minds

00:25:48.940 --> 00:25:51.339
how God has led in the past, what God has said

00:25:51.339 --> 00:25:56.920
then. the instrument of reason as we argue with

00:25:56.920 --> 00:26:00.920
what we believe about God and allow it to test

00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:05.880
the direction. And then finally resonance of

00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:10.539
a good conscience. If these are used the result

00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:12.980
will be that like Timothy we will get spiritual

00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:17.519
promotions. We will stay on track and God can

00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:20.920
entrust more and more and more responsibility

00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:26.069
to us. If we abandon these instruments, the result

00:26:26.069 --> 00:26:30.250
will be shipwreck, like Hymenaeus and Alexander,

00:26:31.930 --> 00:26:35.910
who were facing discipline from God at the hands

00:26:35.910 --> 00:26:40.950
of Satan so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

00:26:41.289 --> 00:26:47.430
Oh, the tragedy of shipwreck. The decision is

00:26:47.430 --> 00:26:50.730
yours and it's mine as to whether we will use

00:26:50.730 --> 00:26:54.220
and follow these instruments in our lives. Years

00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:57.460
ago an ocean liner sank off the coast of Ireland.

00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:00.539
Everyone was bewildered because the captain of

00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:03.779
the ship was known as an excellent seaman. They

00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:07.039
could not understand how he could stray off course

00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:11.640
and hit the rocks. So divers were sent down to

00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:14.519
the ship. They brought up pieces of it, including

00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:17.960
the compass, to try to determine what had happened.

00:27:19.950 --> 00:27:23.049
As they examined the compass and opened the box

00:27:23.049 --> 00:27:26.289
in which it was located, they found inside the

00:27:26.289 --> 00:27:33.210
box the broken off tip of a knife blade. What

00:27:33.210 --> 00:27:36.109
they decided was that some seaman had been cleaning

00:27:36.109 --> 00:27:39.869
that box and had inadvertently broken off his

00:27:39.869 --> 00:27:44.029
knife so that the metal tip fell into the compass

00:27:44.029 --> 00:27:47.730
causing the compass however slightly to be inaccurate.

00:27:48.910 --> 00:27:53.250
the result was shipwrecked. And there are some

00:27:53.250 --> 00:27:56.349
of you this morning that may be headed toward

00:27:56.349 --> 00:28:01.470
the rocks. Will you please avoid that disaster?

00:28:03.250 --> 00:28:08.230
Will you rescue yourself from discipline? Will

00:28:08.230 --> 00:28:12.750
you listen to your instruments today and change

00:28:12.750 --> 00:28:18.619
course and receive the blessing of God? in your

00:28:18.619 --> 00:28:23.980
life. And know the joy of receiving from God

00:28:23.980 --> 00:28:27.980
increasing responsibility for His work in the

00:28:27.980 --> 00:28:32.740
world because your life has been on course. Let's

00:28:32.740 --> 00:28:45.700
pray. Where's your life my friend? Are you on

00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:48.519
a perilous course this morning? headed toward

00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:51.519
the rocks. Are there instruments in your life

00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:55.220
that are buzzing alarms, that are flashing lights,

00:28:55.839 --> 00:29:00.539
that are saying watch out, watch out. And yet

00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:03.019
to this point you've not altered the course.

00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:08.960
Will you do that right now? Friends have tried

00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:11.240
to tell you before God they have tried to tell

00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:13.980
you that the direction you're heading is going

00:29:13.980 --> 00:29:17.160
to lead to disaster. your conscience has been

00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:21.240
afflicting you. You know what you believe about

00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:24.180
God and what He says is right and wrong. What

00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:26.420
are the important priorities in life? And yet

00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:31.140
you persist in going the other direction. You

00:29:31.140 --> 00:29:35.259
remember what God said in the past and yet now

00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:37.619
you're going in another direction altogether

00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:44.359
from how God has previously led. Will you say

00:29:44.359 --> 00:29:50.460
in your heart right now, Lord Jesus Christ, I

00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:56.059
see the instruments and I will yield to you.

00:29:56.960 --> 00:29:59.539
You are the captain of my ship. I have taken

00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:04.299
the stern, the wheel, and I have turned it where

00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:10.200
I wanted it to go. Lord Jesus, you take the wheel.

00:30:12.819 --> 00:30:17.400
You be my captain again Will you lift your hand

00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:21.619
and say that is today my commitment I am off

00:30:21.619 --> 00:30:25.940
course, but I'm giving the wheel to Jesus Christ

00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:29.519
Will you lift your hand and say yes, God bless

00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:37.539
you Yes, I see and God sees yes God knows God

00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:39.500
knows the issues God knows the direction you

00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:45.099
need to go in Anyone else? That's my commitment,

00:30:45.180 --> 00:30:47.819
my decision today. I'm giving the wheel to the

00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:54.480
captain. Father, before you these commitments

00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:57.579
are made and all of us, all of us look at the

00:30:57.579 --> 00:31:02.019
instruments in our lives. We can't avoid that,

00:31:02.039 --> 00:31:06.519
we have to. And we want to pay heed to them.

00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:10.900
And I pray for these who have acknowledged the

00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:13.660
wrong course and who are giving you the right

00:31:13.660 --> 00:31:18.799
to turn the ship. Do it now. And later today

00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:20.980
and through this week I pray that as you make

00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:23.319
those turns that these brothers and sisters will

00:31:23.319 --> 00:31:26.440
keep their hands off the wheel and let you direct.

00:31:28.019 --> 00:31:30.660
Thank you for the instruments that you give us.

00:31:31.579 --> 00:31:33.759
Thank you for your direction in life. Thank you

00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:36.799
that we may know your blessing and walk with

00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:41.079
you and fight the good fight. May all of us do

00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:43.579
that this week in the power of the Holy Spirit

00:31:43.579 --> 00:31:50.960
in Jesus name Amen, would you stand please? It's

00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:53.480
good to see Steve and Mary Lynette II over here

00:31:53.480 --> 00:31:54.819
somewhere. There you are