TRANSCRIPT: First number seven. Paul writes a bit about his thorn. These words he says. To keep me from becoming conceited, Because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to be a thorn in my flesh. A messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times, I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest upon me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delighted weaknesses and insults and hardships and persecutions and difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. The subject of handicapped lives is one that takes all of us in. There may be some shining young Apollo here tonight who's never had a problem, but I, frankly, really rather doubt it. I think back over my years, and I think I can honestly say, I've never known a man or woman with any sort of intimacy at all. who did not turn out to be dealing with some kind of a handicap. One of my favorite Scottish preachers, Alexander McLaren, made a little statement I kept open in my mind. He said, please be kind to everyone you meet because everyone you meet is fighting a battle. All of us struggle with handicaps, and some of us in no small degree. And the secret of the quality of our spiritual life, oftentimes, depends upon the way that we deal with our limitations. I think that's one of the reasons why I so greatly admire a scientist like Louis Pasteur, who, in many ways, was the father of all of our modern medicine. We just assumed that Louis Pasteur had a very robust health with wits to work and make all of his discoveries. And yet, you and I discover that, at the age of 46, Pasteur, suffered a debilitating stroke, and had to work with that handicap. for the rest of his days. And so we find a Beethoven writing music while deaf. nd Milton, writing poetry, though blind. And we begin to discover that, in general, some of the greatest work done on Earth has been wrought... by people with handicaps. Now, they may have had some faults and some forables like the rest of us, that's true. But they also had their handicaps, and many of them handicaps far more severe than many of us face. And they dealt with them superbly. And how they do it? How they overcome their limitations, how they overcome their difficulties. Guys, we're not one of us here who wouldn't like to have a little secret into that. Even I go to the Bible and find example after example of man and woman who confirm the problem. One of the greatest things in life, have been accomplished by folks with some terrible handicaps. Look at Paul's thorn. And nobody knows what Paul Thorn was. But a lot of guesses, a lot of speculation, that it was epilepsy. Or perhaps eye trouble, or maybe malaria, or maybe Mrs. Paul, I just threw that in to see if you were listening. Or maybe a bed back, lots of speculation, but nobody knows what Paul's Thorn was. I've been a lot of guests, but nobody knows for sure. Now, rest assured that if some of us had been Paul, or if Paul had been like some of us, everybody would have known what his thorn was. I mean, with all the letters the man wrote, if it probably been like us, everybody from Tesla and I could, the Corinth, the Colossi, to Lycaonia, to Rome would know what his thorn was. But we don't know. All we know is that behind the scenes, just like most of us, Paul had to wrestle with some sort of limitation that he prayed earnestly before God to escape, and that he could not, in any form or fashion, evade, and that one way or other, he had to settle down and live with it. So you and I asked, well, Paul, how'd you do it? How were you able to live and overcome, in spite of that great limitation? It is a critical hour in the life of any man or woman, boy or girl. When, for the first time, they come face to face with their handicap. Here is some young boy, crippled, early in infancy. And he's gone up in his early years with no idea of what's really going on in his life, nor what's really happened to him. But sometime or other, early on in his childhood, it finally dawns on this little crippled boy that he's not like. All the other children. Any recognizes he's got a handicap. And his whole spiritual, mental, physical, and social life may well depend upon how he chooses to handle it. Here's some woman whose parents didn't understand the acritical development of a little child's emotions. who wakes up to discover one day that something's rather wrong on the inside, and that all of his basic emotions and all of our basic feelings begin to flow along channels of suspicion and fear, distrust, and anxiety. And he looks, she looks with envy at those people who seem to have such nicely integrated personalities, who seem to remain so tranquil and calm in the midst of great stress. And her spiritual life, her mental health, will depend upon how she chooses to deal with that handicap. Here's some man, who, in his youth, had all the natural ambitions for success, and now understands he'll never arrive at his desired goals. He'll never write poetry. He'll never be able to compose music. He will never hold the business positions for which he so often dreamed. And again and again, it's like he stepped on the gas, And the power just wasn't in him. For God did not equip him with 8 subtleness or with 6. And frankly, the 4 he's got, don't fire too well. It's a crucial hour when a person comes face to face with their handicaps. Here's a, here's a man who has high expectations for a noble and profitable life. But upon whom, like some beast, from ambush, an accident, or a sickness leaps upon him, and now he's got to spend the rest of his life working with crippled machinery. And again and again, he likes to throw in the old power in the old way, and all he does is blow a fuse. And somehow, he's gotta face that handicap. Moreover, there are many of us who have all sorts of limitations that lie in our personal relationships with people. There's some here tonight, who wanted love, and missed it. There's a home where a marriage might have been a thing of great beauty, and instead, tragedy, transpired. Here's a family with a little child created is a great blessing. who instead became... an agony. Here's a home where death severed. A tie that was the support of that home. Among the few things that are true about all of us is the fact that each one of us has a handicap. Well how do we deal with it? What's the technique? How do we harness the grace that Paul says is sufficient? I struggle with my thorn, he writes, three times, I prayed, and God wouldn't take it away, and now come to understand, it's in the midst of my weakness that God pours out his grace. And so how in the world can you and I harness the grace that God wants to pour in to make us victorious in the midst of all of our handicaps? Well, in the first place, you and I look through this pass, they didn't meditate on it a bit. In the 1st place, if we're to deal handsomely with our handicaps, we must resist the temptation toward rebellion and self pity. And choose instead to deal in life with a very positive attitude. You know, the initial reaction, you and I have your handicap, is rebellion, or self pity in a negative sense. How many folks respond like Joe? Job's wife? Rebellion? And she sees Job in all of his calamities, in all of his difficulties, and she advises Joe just to curse God and die, and many a handicapped person has cursed God. However, there are many of us not quite so vehement, as Job's wife, and instead of turning to rebellion and cursing God, we just, we melt away in the midst of self pity. And how often you and I hear people stroke their wounded spirits and say things like, If I only hadn't have this handicap, think what a great person I might have become. And so drifting along in the dreams of their imaginations, they... they dream of what they could have been, had they not had this handicap, and they begin to feel very sorry for themselves. That such a miserable occurrence, said, keep them from such a wonderful paradise. Now, that's natural. But it's not very helpful, nor practical. attitude. In dealing with our handicaps, if we're to experience the grace that is sufficient for us, we must be willing to realize that very few people, in fact, none of us that I know of, live through life without having some sort of limitations. Whoever had the chance to live their full life on Earth under the ideal circumstances that they would have chosen. A person doesn't exist. Once, when the great violinist, O Bull, was giving a concert in Paris, one of the four strings on his violin, his A string, snapped. And so he simply transposed the composition and finished out the concert with three strings. Now, that's life. They have your A string brake and have to finish out on three strings. Now how many of us had to test that out? It seems that some of the most thrilling parts of life lie in the ability to handle those handicaps. I think if I could have only heard O Bull play once in concert. With all the resources of a perfect instrument in hand. I think if I could have hurt him only once, I would like to have hurt him that night in Paris. When his A string broke, and without rebellion, without self pity, without surrender, he finished out the concert on three strings. You see, as soon as a man or woman begins to view their handicaps in a positive attitude, they soon present themselves as opportunities instead of defeats. It is a good cook who, after she has burned the dinner, or after he has burned the dinner, knows how to make a fine meal out of the leftovers. And it's a good cook who's challenged to try. It's a successful Christian. who's able to say, well, I can't help it if my A string broke, and I, frankly, I can't help it if I burn the dinner, but I can sure help my attitude towards it. Because rebellion gets us nowhere and self pity gets us nowhere, but the insight to see that something can be done with second best. can get us everywhere. I've thought for years, one of my dad's favorite sayings, such a common one, but it's finally sinking deep into my head. I just a little boy, I can recall him saying, over and over, Roger, when live hands you a lemonade, lemon, squeeze it, and make lemonade. That is still good advice. Now, I'm certain Paul would rather not have his thorn, don't you? He didn't want that, Thorn. I'm certain that Paul, if he had his wishes, if he had his Druthers, would rather not have had that thorn. But I suspect that there are qualities of understanding and sympathy that was seen as music moving through Paul's epistles that would never have been there had Paul not been forced to finish out his life on just three strings. Now, in the second place, if you and I are to experience the grace that God wants to pour in, to make us sufficient in the midst of our weaknesses, If you and I are to experience that grace, then, uh, not only must we have a positive attitude towards our handicaps, you and I must stop comparing ourselves with other people, and stop wishing to be what somebody else is, are wishing to have what somebody else has, we must stop wishing to do what somebody else is doing. The reason that so many of us are so frustrated with our limitations is that we continue comparing ourselves with other people, and we wish to be what they are, or be able to have the facilities to do what they do. And we habitually measure ourselves by other people, and we assume a responsibility for our happiness or our success, our usefulness that God never intends for us to assume. It is a great day in the mind of a handicapped person, be he female, male, old, or young, when he finally understands that he has only one responsibility, and that one responsibility is not to be like anybody else, but instead, just to handle his own situation. As best, he can. Psychologists tell us that one of the reasons for emotional maladjustments is due to the fact that most of us won't accept who we are. One of the reasons for many mental maladjustments is that most of us won't accept what we are. You know what we do? Born to be berry bushes and produce good berries, many of us, look at the apple tree and long to produce bigger fruit. Born to be apple trees and produce beautiful apples. Many of us cast our gaze at the maples and wish we could provide shade like they do, born to be a maple tree. Many of us look at the elms and wish we were as tall and as graceful as they. Now, God has given each of us a very special field to tell. accept it. And if the soil is thinner, and the rocks were numerous, and the prospects in your field, less promising than those in another's field, that is simply a fact of life. We all must face. We've got to stop looking over the fence and dreaming what we could do with somebody else's field. Our limitations are also our opportunities. Remember, Ralph Waldo Emerson's squirrel, when the squirrel was talking to the mountain, and they were discussing the value of their lives, and the squirrel says to the mountain, well, maybe I can't carry forests on my back, but you can't crack a nut. For to handle this with grace, we've got to stop trying to be like somebody else, and except... the field God gives to us. I think a little diminutive, four and a half foot tall, William Wilberforce. Now, I would imagine that that Englishman, uh, the previous generation, long to have a big body, and a stronger frame. In fact, a Boswell once went to hear Wilberforce speak, and he said afterward, I saw what seemed like a mere shrimp, mount the table. And as he began to speak, and speak, and speak, it wasn't long until that little shrimp grew to the size of a whale. And you know, that little shrimp of a man never had good health. In fact, for 20 years, he lived on opium, under strict care of his physician. Trying, somehow or other, to keep that diseased racked body in harmony with his soul. But more than anybody else in England, he stopped the British slave trade, and, in fact, is buried now in Westminster Abbey. where he's known as the etern attorney general of the untrodden, the unprotected, and the friendless. Now you examine his life, and it seems rather obvious, doesn't it? That that suffering, sensitive, life translated itself into a persistent, unconquerable sympathy with downtrodden people at some healthy hunk of a man in good health would never have felt. So don't despise those limitations, their opportunities. God will not judge us in masses, we will all have a personal examination. And what we did, in our own little field, is all that matters. And if we say, before God, well, um, I'm not good as, I'm not as good as so and so was, uh, we will rather have missed the point. Because maybe God says to us, well, done good and faithful servant, and you didn't have all the abilities and strengths and opportunities. It so-and-so, head, and you did a marvelous job with what you hit. And if we say, well, God, I was better than so-and-so, we missed the whole point. It may be that God says, yeah. But so-and-so had all kinds of troubles and problems that you didn't have. You should have done a whole lot better. And finally, if you and I are to experience God's grace poured in, it makes us sufficient in every circumstance. Not only unless we have a positive attitude, not only, unless we stop trying to compare ourselves, in wish we were somebody else, I wish we had a different place to live, our different body to live it with. Thirdly, if we're to experience that grace, it will be because we finally perceive that however limited may be our outward service, we can always make a spiritual contribution. to the world. Handicaps, far from preventing the development of spirituality, are usually the indispensable setting. for it. You bring on some shining specimen of manhood who's never had a handicap, who has a marvelously well integrated personality, who's lived in fortunate circumstances, who has great physical health, unhindered by any days of sickness whatsoever, and however energetic his service and activity may be in the world, there are simply some things he can never offer to people that Helen Keller can. She's handicapped. She's blind. She's deaf. And for her, the doors of life have shut on every side. Except the one door that can never be shut for her. The chance to be a radiant soul in the midst. horrible. circumstances. The relationship between, uh, those fortunate people on one side who have few handicaps, and those who labor under intense difficulties, is a fascinating study. And many of us will never appreciate the literary value, frankly, of paradise, lost, or paradise regained, but there's not one of us. who can't appreciate blind John Milton sitting down to write. Now that does something. Forrest. Many of us, frankly, aren't impressed at all with Longfellow's translation of Dante. But when you and I learned that Mrs. Longfellow accidentally set her dress on fire, and that Longfellow desperately, but vainly, tried with his own hands to quench the flames. And that after it was all over, and Mrs. Longfellow died from the burns, had Longfellow himself sat down in that wifeless, motherless home. And there to occupy a tormented mine. He translated Dante. And did it marvelously well? Now, that says something. Do it. No one can easily estimate the spiritual stimulus that comes into human life. From the handicapped people who have found God's grace. Sufficient. A number of years ago there was cheering at the commencement service of one Midwestern university, the likes of which had never been heard in that school before. As a crippled boy, was carried across by arms of compassion. to receive his hard work for diploma. Four years ago, the boy answered present on the first day of his first class in school, and his professor said, Stand up, and the young boy said, I'm sorry, sir. I haven't been able to stand since I was four years old. But, by being what he was, in the midst of a very difficult situation. That boy made such an impression on the entire university. That when his companions carried him in their own arms in front of that great assembly to receive his diploma, there was cheering and clapping, such as had not occurred there for years. Whatever despise a handicap, they are opportunities for service, spiritual service. That no one else can render. You say, Well, it takes great faith to live like that, yes? And you won't find that faith in any atheistic society, and you and I won't find it in any cult. You and I will only find it... from a powerful living relationship. with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Paul writes. To keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing great revelations, there was given to me a thorn in my flesh. A messenger of Satan to torment me three times, I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but he said, my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses. So that Christ's power may rest. upon me. Can we bow our heads and pray? Oh, there's not a one of us here. Could have a struggle at one time or another, at one point or another, with some limitations. Some handicaps. Some of us were debilitating than others. You know, I simply asked tonight that your spirit might take this verse, and do it deeply into our minds, so that we wouldn't fret or be upset, or anxious, feel cheated, about some difficulty that's come to us. Instead, Father, we will look upon those difficulties as a marvelous opportunity for you to pour in your power. And make us... victorious. by your grace.

We are all familiar with the mark of the beast. Fear and confusion surrounding it seem to swirl around it. As a child, I remember hearing a preacher declare that the birthmark on Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s head was the mark of the beast. We were warned that Visa cards or barcodes might be the mark. Today, rumors abound that the mark is a QR code, a vaccine, or something connected to artificial intelligence. Such speculation dramatically misunderstands John’s explanation of the mark of the beast in the book of Revelation. The best-known passage on this subject appears in Revelation 13: Also [the second beast) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Rev. 13:16-18) The Dragon and the Two Beasts To understand the mark of the beast, we must first understand the beast. Or, more precisely the dragon and the two beasts that form an unholy imitation of the Trinity. In Revelation 12, the first member of this unholy trinity appears: the dragon. John recounts the spiritual conflict between the dragon, the woman who represents God’s covenant people, and the Christ-child. “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems” (Rev. 12:3). To understand John’s vision, we must recognize the rich Hebraic symbolism and imagery woven throughout this apocalyptic book. The imagery of the serpent, Leviathan, and dragon appears throughout the Old Testament (Genesis 3, Job, and Ezra, respectively). John draws upon that imagery to portray Satan as the ancient enemy of God and His people. The dragon has seven heads (a number of completion) with ten horns (representing power, and also a number of completion). John is showing that the spiritual enemy that sought to destroy Christ continues to oppose God’s purposes throughout the world. In Revelation 13, we meet the second member of the unholy trinity: the beast from the sea. “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads” (Rev. 13:1). Like the dragon, the beast has seven heads and ten horns. John continues, “And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority” (Rev. 13:2). John’s description draws directly from Daniel’s prophetic vision in Daniel 7. In Daniel’s vision, four beasts emerge from the sea, representing successive empires that will emerge (the lion-eagle is Babylon, the bear is the Medo-Persian empire, the leopard-bird is the Greek empire, the iron-toothed animal is the Roman empire). John’s beast combines creatures from all four. It is a monstrous composite, representing rebellious human political power in all its forms. What is the meaning? The point is similar to the imagery of the seven heads and ten crowns: the beastly pattern of pride, persecution, idolatry, and rebellion against God can appear in every empire and age. Satan is not omnipresent, but his corrupting influence extends widely through the kingdoms of this world. John then describes the first beast as receiving a mortal wound and appearing to recover from it (Rev. 13:3). Some interpreters see an initial fulfillment in Nero’s suicide (68AD) and the apparent death of the Roman Empire that followed. The empire’s renewed strength under Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian may have contributed to this imagery. The world responds by worshiping the haughty and blasphemous beast (Rev. 13:4-10). We finally meet the third member of the unholy trinity: the beast from the earth. This beast appears lamb-like but speaks with the voice of the dragon, “Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon” (Rev. 13:11). He also performs miraculous signs and makes the earth worship the first beast (13:12-15). The Mark of the Beast With this background in view, we return to the mark of the beast. Are you aware that in the book of Revelation, those who follow God are also marked or sealed as his own? Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. Rev. 7:3 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Rev. 9:4 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. Rev. 14:1 Why are both God’s seal and the beast’s mark associated with the forehead and hand? The imagery echoes God’s instructions to Israel following the Ten Commandments, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Dt. 6:8). To this day, Orthodox Jews wear phylacteries (teffilin) on their foreheads and on their arm and hand. God’s intention of the commandment was not literal. Any Jew to this day would tell you that they are not fulfilling the law by the binding of their phylacteries; the phylacteries are a physical reminder of a spiritual reality. We are to bind God’s truth to our mind (head) and actions (hand). Both the mark of God and the mark of the beast, then, are not a physical, but a spiritual mark. If you worship God, you will be spiritually marked by God. If you worship the beast, you will be marked by him. Paul cautions us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rms. 12:2). Peter echoes, “do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance” (1 Pet. 1:14). Paul tells us that, as we behold “the glory of God, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). The Psalmist warns us that, for the idol worshiper, “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them” (Ps. 115:8). Jeremiah similarly warns those who “went after worthlessness, and became worthless” (Jer. 2:15). The mark of the beast cautions us: we become what we worship. Calculating the Number of the Beast This leaves one final question: how do we calculate the number of the beast: 666? There are at least two explanations. The first is that John uses the Hebrew practice of Gematria, which assigns numbers to each Hebrew letter. Using Gematria, Cesar Nero calculates to 666. This surely was in part what John intended to communicate to his audience. More broadly, John is communicating that the beast falls short of God’s glory on every level. 7 is the number of perfection; 6 is imperfection. Three is the number of magnification, so 666 is magnified imperfection. So, what is the mark of the beast? It is those who have been marked by the one who masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), but is, in fact, a fraud. This arrogant blasphemer prowls about (1 Pet. 5:8), seeking to draw worship to himself. He uses our own fleshly desires, fears, and cultural and political influences. If our attention of the beast is focused on trying to figure out which individual is the Antichrist, or whether the mark of the beast is a QR code or a vaccine, we’ve been duped by that demonic magician, Satan. He’s diverted our attention from the true threat hiding in plain sight: when we worship ourselves or the broken things of this world instead of the true Triune God who alone is worthy of our praise. Reject the Frankenstein-idols of this world and worship the Holy One. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Know God. Know yourself. And know the enemy. Don’t be duped by his masquerading, don’t be confused by misunderstandings of the mark of the beast. Be sealed by the Holy God and hold fast to him alone.

Dear Roger, I know God said, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). I’ve been thinking a lot about friends—it’s been tough to make time for mine lately. Can you give me some insight into why friends are so important? Sincerely, Dale Dear Dale, I would be glad to share a few thoughts. 1. If Jesus needed close friends, think how important close friends must be for us. Jesus said to His disciples, “No longer said do I call you servants, but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Before Jesus went to Jerusalem to die, he stopped along the way to see his good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus Jesus had the Twelve disciples (well, eleven anyway), and three of these were His intimate friends. Jesus shared His glory with Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. He wanted his three best friends to experience the joyous shining of His glory with Him. He didn’t want to experience His transfiguration alone. Jesus was struggling in the Garden the night before the crucifixion. He pleaded with His disciples to watch and pray for Him. He needed his close friends to provide encouragement and comfort. Unfortunately, in that case, they did not measure up to the task. That happens sometimes. Every Christian needs close friends to walk with through life. 2. We live in a lonely culture. Everyone could use some friends. I was sitting in the Tulsa airport when the man next to me began talking about friends. He shared that he didn’t have any. In fact, he told me that recently his wife said to him, “You need some friends.” “So, I went out and bought a dog. You know, dogs are a man’s best friend!” Is that sad or what? Don’t get me wrong; dogs can be wonderful companions. My daughter, Brianna, says that God must have created dogs right before Eve, because they love well, respond to emotion, and show loyalty. But don’t miss this. Even in the Garden of Eden, even with the Creator as his companion, God looked at Adam’s loneliness and said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” So, he created Eve. God created us to live in relationship with one another. 3. Our world is filled with people who outwardly look content but inwardly are crying out for someone to love them. Many are confused, lonely, frustrated, frightened, guilty, and unable to communicate, even with their own families. Other people look so happy and contented that we seldom have the courage to admit our own deep needs. Don’t be fooled. If only these people who seem so happy and contented would just take off their masks, we would often see that they are in as much pain as we are—perhaps even more. 4. Close friends have the ability to sense inner turmoil and then administer love, comfort, and grace at just the right times. Pastor Alexander MacLaren used to say, “Be kind to everyone you meet, because everyone is fighting a battle.” During my forty-plus years of pastoring, I discovered that most people have one word—just one—that will pierce through their façade and reveal the hurt underneath. I’m sure that’s true for you, too, whether it be a wayward child’s name, an illness or disease, a deep disappointment, or a painful memory. That’s why in many ways, the church, not the building, but the people, is a hospital for hurting people. We come together and help one another heal through intimate friendship and understanding. We all need authentic love and acceptance! 5. Close friends allow us to experience the “wonder of with.” Jesus appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.” (Mark 3:14) Notice that Jesus didn’t send His disciples—his close friends—out to preach until the final year of His ministry. They spent two and a half years just being with Him. Imagine what people said to the disciples during the first two and a half years. “What do you do here in ministry?” “Well, we are here with Him.” “Yeah, but what do you do?” “We just hang around with him.” The only one who held a job during those two and a half years was who? Judas. I bet Judas never embraced the “wonder of with.” In the western world, we have lost the “wonder of with. We are always frantically wanting to go out and do! But God intended for us to walk through life with one another, simply experiencing life together. Where do you learn the “wonder of with”? You learn it in Jerusalem—just hanging out with your spouse, family, and friends. My son-in-law, Brad, began practicing the “wonder of with” alongside my granddaughters from the moment they were born. Heading to the grocery store? He bundled them into the car. A late afternoon at work? He picked them up from school, grabbed a drink at Sonic, and they listened to music in his office. An evening at home? He brought everyone into the living room to snuggle on the couch and watch a movie—no phones allowed. Today, I wish you could see the love those young women have for their daddy. Every week, each one claims a “daddy-daughter” date. Great relationships grow out of the “wonder of with.” 6. Friendship is a “sheltering tree.” Samuel Coleridge was a British essayist and poet who is best remembered for The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which told the story of a becalmed ship filled with dead men. Coleridge was victimized by rheumatism. He tried to mask his pain with opium and became addicted. He was lonely and in unhappy marriage. His wife died young of cancer. Coleridge died in his sixties under a doctor’s care--still addicted, miserable, and unable to settle the voices which were raging inside. But he had a close friend named William Wordsworth. If you love poetry, that name should be very familiar. He stood by Coleridge through it all, offering comfort, acceptance, and strength. One of Coleridge’s best works has never been published. My favorite line is, “Friendship is a sheltering tree.” I think of close friends like great trees with leafy limbs that come around us and spread themselves over us. They bring shade from the sun, protection from storms, and combat winter’s wind of loneliness. Picture a great sheltering tree. That is a close friend. 7. Friends must be cultivated. They don’t come automatically. “A man who has friends must show himself friendly” (Proverbs 18:24). Samuel Johnson wrote: “If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. One should keep his friendships in constant repair.” In the wake of Covid, many of us became incredibly isolated. We discovered artificial substitutes for close friendships like social media or even binge-watching TV. We text more often than we talk! Today, getting together “in person” often seems like too much effort. But let’s be real. There is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. We need genuine, heartfelt conversation where we can respond to each other’s facial expressions. Emojis don’t cut it! We need hugs and handshakes, not hashtags. We need to clasp hands and pray together, not just copy and paste “praying” into the comment section of a Facebook post. Close friendship is worth the effort every time. Please, don’t stay isolated. We need each other now! 8. Friends aren’t neutral. If you run with good friends, you become a better person. If you run with poor friends, you will risk your faith. Choose your friends wisely. In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul warns, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” If you are a gossip, you usually run with gossips. If you are a rebel, you run with rebels. Or on the other hand, if you run with rebels, you become one. If you want to be wise, run with wise people and you become wise. It’s amazing how our friends influence who we are. 9. Friends come in four classifications, not one. (Thank you, Chuck Swindoll!) 1. Acquaintances are those with whom we have spasmodic contact and superficial interaction. We don’t ask hard questions. For example: “How are you doing?” “I’m really not doing very well, but I can’t tell you.” 2. Casual friends may share with us some common interests. Maybe we will even ask an opinion of a casual friend. We are a little closer but not too close. We still keep a safe distance. 3. Close friends often have similar life goals. We feel free to ask close friends the hard questions. We often go out to eat with close friends or have them over for meals. These are the folks with whom we invest much time as we open up and share with them. 4. We keep no secrets from intimate friends. We can tell them anything. Our hearts are laid bare before them. We share our very lives with intimate friends. Now, let me tell you a tragedy. Many people have no intimate friends. They are the loneliest people in the world. There is no one with whom they can open up. That’s why life is so tough. You are very fortunate if you’ve had one or two intimate friends. Most people never have even one. 10. Good friends stand beside us when we need them. An old legend says that Gabriel the Angel came to Christ after His ascension and asked Him about His plan for sharing the Gospel with the whole world. Jesus said: “I have selected twelve men and told them to take the gospel to the entire world.” Gabriel replied, “But they are just men. Men get sick and die. They can be lazy and disobedient and confused. What if they fail? What is your backup plan?” Jesus said: “I don’t have a backup plan. I am counting on them.” And they didn’t let Him down. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47) Well, I hope this both answers your question and encourages you to pursue close friendships. Love, Roger .

For many years there has been the notion among some people that American Christianity is too concerned with doctrine and theology and less concerned with helping the needy and oppressed of society. This narrative, to a degree successfully promulgated, was fostered by those with a liberal mindset toward Christianity. More importantly, within the church community this narrative has been embraced by what has become known as Progressive Christianity. Progressives, both secular and religious, have effectively controlled the narrative that conservatives lack compassion, care for the poor and oppressed, and that they are too focused on morals and values issues that they ignore critical human needs. But is this narrative really true, or is this an argument developed by Progressive Christianity in opposition to the church’s historical emphasis on right beliefs? What is Progressive Christianity? Progressive Christianity, as defined by Roger Wosley in his book, Kissing Fish: Christianity For People Who Don’t Like Christianity, “Is an approach to the Christian faith that is influenced by post-liberalism and postmodernism and: proclaims Jesus of Nazareth as Christ, Savior, and Lord; emphasizes the Way and teachings of Jesus, not merely His person; emphasizes God’s immanence not merely God’s transcendence; leans toward panentheism rather than supernatural theism; emphasizes salvation here and now instead of primarily in heaven later; emphasizes being saved for robust, abundant/eternal life over being saved from hell; emphasizes the social/communal aspects of salvation instead of merely the personal; stresses social justice as integral to Christian discipleship; takes the Bible seriously but not necessarily literally, embracing a more interpretive, metaphorical understanding; emphasizes orthopraxy instead of orthodoxy (right actions over right beliefs); embraces reason as well as paradox and mystery — instead of blind allegiance to rigid doctrines and dogmas; does not consider homosexuality to be sinful; and does not claim that Christianity is the only valid or viable way to connect to God (is non-exclusive)” (Emphasis mine). Progressive Christianity denies the essential doctrines of orthodox and evangelical Christianity with the view that the central focus of Christianity must be its social influence rather than its theological influence originating from the identity and work of Jesus Christ. In fact, on most Progressive Christian websites very little is said about Jesus, the atonement, sin, and salvation. Progressive Christianity is essentially a works philosophy under the guise of Christianity. What Are The Core Beliefs Of Progressive Christianity? As with any belief system, there must be a foundation that adherents refer to, either in the positive or the negative, to make sense of its belief structure. Progressive Christianity is influenced by the Bible, but not by the Bible solely. As mentioned above, Progressive Christianity begins with a set of assumptions that guide its perspective of the Bible. It is a faith “influenced by post-liberalism and postmodernism.” These perspectives are essentially anti-Christian in their worldview. Thus, to use them as the interpretive framework for the Bible is to deny the historical reliability of the Bible from the get go instead of letting the Bible speak for itself. Note the claims by Progressives concerning the Bible: Regarding the Bible’s claim about the virgin birth of Jesus, Eric Alexander, writing in Progressive Christianity: Fact Or Fiction, says, “It is indeed probably a myth and not worth squabbling over its historicity.” However, defining the virgin birth of Jesus as myth effectively robs Jesus of his claims to divinity by denying the incarnation. If there was no incarnation then it follows that Jesus was not God in human flesh. This makes Jesus a simple man like any other instead of the “God-man” of orthodoxy. According to Gregory C. Jenks, writing in Taking The Bible Seriously But Not Literally, “The events represented in the Bible [are] more often fictional than historical…the Bible may need to be read contrary to its literal and historical significance…For its own sake as much as for ours, the Bible needs a demotion.” Fellow progressive, Dwight Welch agrees, stating that, “The moment Genesis is taken as a historical record is the moment that it can be dismissed. And unfortunately that means that whatever resources can be found in Genesis will likewise be dismissed” (A Progressive Christian Case For Original Sin, “Approaching Justice”). Progressive Christianity rejects the Bible as an authoritative volume on the spiritual matters on which is speaks. “We believe that the Bible is a human construction and it is, therefore, full of both human promise and human error. We believe that no humanly constructed book can be the authoritative word of God” (Gretta Vosper, We Believe, Canadian Center For Progressive Christianity). Foundationally, the Bible holds an influential place in progressive theology, but it is not the central influence. In fact, Progressive Christianity sources other religious documents and claims and incorporates them into its belief structure. In Progressive Christianity, Jesus isn’t the only way to God and other religions are valid. “The belief that Christianity can be vital without claiming to be the best or the only true religion. In contrast to mainstream Christianity’s lukewarm “tolerance” of other religions, progressive Christianity pro-actively asserts that it is not the best or the only. Progressive Christians take pains to claim simultaneously their own Christian faith and their support of the complete validity of other religions” (Grassroots Progressive Christianity, Hal Taussig). Progressive Christianity’s incorporation of other belief systems into its own happens on every level, including worship where some old, traditional hymns are rewritten in keeping with their eclectic beliefs, such as this rendition of, That Old Time Religion: “Give me that old time religion, it’s good enough for me. It was good enough for Buddha, it was good enough for Jesus, it was good enough for Mohammad, and it’s good enough for me…it was good enough for Krishna, it was good enough for Gandhi, it was good enough for Teresa, and it’s good enough for me” (Jim Burklo). By rejecting the incarnation and demoting the Bible’s authority, Progressive Christianity does violence to the doctrine of sin. Its view is that there is no original sin from which man needs saving. “Humans haven’t ‘fallen’ from some idealized status or state of being, and there was no literal ‘original sin’ (Roger Wolsey, March 11, 2014). This view includes all kinds of sin, including sexual sin and homosexuality. “These groups are explicitly and thoroughly committed to feminism and affirmation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people” (Grassroots Progressive Christianity, Hal Taussig). So, in the name of acceptance and affirmation, Progressive Christianity does away with the traditional understanding of sin and takes a stand directly opposite that of the Bible on man’s sin problem and need for a savior, specifically, from sin. It builds community around its redefinition instead of the Bible’s claims. However, you can find acceptance and affirmation from virtually any group: Latter Day Saints, the local mosque, a Buddhist temple, among atheist groups, the bar down the street, and even a Star Trek convention. But acceptance and affirmation don’t change us spiritually or make our beliefs correct. A vibrant spiritual life isn’t based solely upon community, though community is an important element. A vibrant spiritual life must be based on revealed truth—the truth about who Jesus is, what he has done, and what our proper response should be in light of that knowledge. These are all truths contained within the Bible, to which progressives give only a pseudo-acceptance. Progressive Christianity doesn’t truly deal with sin and it rejects the substitutionary atonement of Christ. This is important, for without the substitutionary atonement of Christ there is no forgiveness of sin. If there is no forgiveness then there is no impartation of grace or mercy. Thus, we are still in our sin and there is no salvation and no relationship with God. Progressive Christianity paints Jesus as more of a philosopher than a redeemer, and is therefore a denial of the fundamentals of our faith and cannot rightly be called Christian. Orthopraxy vs. Orthodoxy The chief problem with progressive Christianity is what it does to the work of the gospel. In Orthodox or evangelical Christianity the Christian is tasked with spreading the message of the Gospel about Jesus to the world. But, in Progressive Christianity there is no gospel to spread. This is its greatest failure. Its community meetings and involvement do nothing about the sin problem because there is no atonement for sin and thus there is no need to spread the message about Jesus’ atonement. The implication of progressive Christianity’s central idea of universalism means that since all will be saved anyway there is no need to reach everyone with the gospel. The reality is that this doesn’t save anyone. The tragedy of progressive Christianity is similar to the lawyer who came to question Jesus in Mark 12:28-34. “One of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’ And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’” Notice that the scribe had the correct answer about the scripture, but Jesus didn’t say he was in the kingdom, only that he was nor far from it. In other words, he was still outside the kingdom. What did the scribe lack? It was the understanding that Jesus was the one to whom the scribe’s supreme love was owed. Progressive Christianity makes the same error. Progressive Christianity has some of the right answers when it comes to helping the poor and oppressed. But because it denies the atonement, the reason for Jesus’ coming, it essentially denies Jesus’ greatest work, and his person. This puts Progressive Christianity outside of orthodoxy. It seeks to obey principles of mercy, but it denies the ultimate mission of the Mercy Giver, and the Giver himself. In their noble desire for right behavior (orthopraxy), progressives have forgotten right beliefs (orthodoxy) when in reality the first should be a natural, organic procession from the latter. Conclusion Without a right view of Jesus and the atonement, Progressive Christianity falls under the category of a religious cult. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other cults share this in common with progressives. They have many right behaviors, but their theology about Jesus, the atonement, and requirements for salvation place them outside of orthodoxy, which places them outside of biblically-based Christianity. There are many genuine Christians caught up in progressivism because of their heartfelt design to reach the poor and help the oppressed. But how are their good works any different from the good works of a mormon, or even the atheist who wants to relieve suffering? There is no difference. What makes a Christian a Christian is the holding fast to the person of Jesus, his sacrifice for sin, his resurrection, and exclusive devotion to God, through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Without these, Progressive Christianity isn’t really Christianity at all.

rWe continue our series on The Minor Prophets with the book of Joel. The book begins in the wake of devastation and crisis. And Joel is using these circumstances to call people back to a dependency upon God. It's often from within the pain we experience that God is calling to us and inviting us to experience Him aWe gontinue ounew. Calamity will come for us. Sometimes God uses pain to get our attention and to call us back to Him. The central message of Joel is: "The pathway from devastation to restoration begins with a wholehearted return to God." In our day God can still bring about restoration - He is still a merciful and restoring God. One day he will judge fully and fully restore all things. Throughout the book of Joel, we see the familiar refrain of all the Minor Prophets: Return to the Lord and His covenant, repent of your sins, and experience the restoration of the Lord. May we be people of this rhythm in our living. The Minor Prophets Minor in length, not in message Three words sum up the message of all of The Minor Prophets: Return. Repent. Restore. Return to the Lord and His covenant. Repent of your sins. Experience restoration with God. The Book of Joel (uses a lot of poetic language) A massive ARMY had invaded — but not an army like you would think: …locusts had devastated the nation. Fields were stripped bare. Crops destroyed. Economic stability vanished. Famine and drought was reality. But Joel sees something deeper. The locusts were not merely an agricultural disaster. They were a spiritual wake-up call. Joel takes a national tragedy and asks a spiritual question: "What is God trying to say to us through this?" That question remains relevant today. Joel, whose name means “Yahweh is God,” *Scholars suggest possible dates - for Joel’s ministry ranging from the reign of Joash (835–796 B.C.) to after the Babylonian captivity sometime in the 6th century B.C. It’s most likely set during that time period (6th century) of Ezra-Nehemiah time frame, after the return from the exile, because he mentions Jerusalem and the temple - but not a kingdom. He quotes/alludes to many other minor prophet books. He mentions the “Day of the Lord” a few times in the book and that always hints at (in short) God’s judgement. “The ol - wait until your father gets home” kind of sense — if you grew up with healthy fear of Dad’s impending judgement that would come… That exact term is used 19 times in the Old Testament and 5 times in the New Testament. The “Day of the Lord” = a cycle consisting of: • God revealing man’s sin, • A means of salvation, • An opportunity for repentance, • Judgment, • Restoration "Day of the Lord" (Hebrew: Yom Yahweh) is a prophetic concept describing a span of time when God directly intervenes in human history to judge evil, defeat his enemies, and bring salvation to the faithful. It’s an: “All ready and not yet” reality - we see instances in the past and there will be a ‘in the future’ display as well… New Testament writers adopt the Old Testament apocalyptic framework and identify Jesus Christ as the agent of this Day. The Apostle Paul equates the Day of the Lord with the return of Jesus. Joel 1:1-15 NLT The LORD gave this message to Joel son of Pethuel.Hear this, you leaders of the people. Listen, all who live in the land. In all your history, has anything like this happened before?Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation.After the cutting locusts finished eating the crops, the swarming locusts took what was left! After them came the hopping locusts, and then the stripping locusts, too!Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine-drinkers! All the grapes are ruined, and all your sweet wine is gone.A vast army of locusts has invaded my land, a terrible army too numerous to count. Its teeth are like lions’ teeth, its fangs like those of a lioness.It has destroyed my grapevines and ruined my fig trees, stripping their bark and destroying it, leaving the branches white and bare.Weep like a bride dressed in black, mourning the death of her husband.For there is no grain or wine to offer at the Temple of the LORD. So the priests are in mourning. The ministers of the LORD are weeping.The fields are ruined, the land is stripped bare. The grain is destroyed, the grapes have shriveled, and the olive oil is gone.Despair, all you farmers! Wail, all you vine growers! Weep, because the wheat and barley— all the crops of the field—are ruined.The grapevines have dried up, and the fig trees have withered. The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees— all the fruit trees—have dried up. And the people’s joy has dried up with them.Dress yourselves in burlap and weep, you priests! Wail, you who serve before the altar! Come, spend the night in burlap, you ministers of my God. For there is no grain or wine to offer at the Temple of your God.Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. Bring the leaders and all the people of the land into the Temple of the LORD your God, and cry out to him there.The day of the LORD is near, the day when destruction comes from the Almighty. How terrible that day will be! The imagery is relentless. Wave after wave of destruction. Nothing untouched. Nothing spared. Joel wants the people to feel the weight of their circumstances. Not because God enjoys suffering… Suffering has a way of exposing what comfort often so easily conceals. When life is easy, we can drift. When life is painful, we start asking deeper questions. “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain Joel reminds us: disruption can often be a divine invitation. Joel 2:11-13 NIV The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. "return to me with all your heart..." "Rend your hearts and not your garments." In Joel's day people would tear their clothing as an outward sign of repentance. God says: "I'm not interested in outward displays - if your heart remains unchanged." The problem wasn't merely behavior modification...going through the motions outwardly, but never changing the heart/intentions on the inside… Jesus said one day: Jesus replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." -Mark 7:6 =The problem was their distance from God. (no heart proximity to God, means limited relational connection with God) Joel 2:12-14 NLT That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the LORD your God as before. =WHY can we return to God? Because GOD’S MERCY IS GREATER THAN OUR FAILURE (v.13) The greatest motivation for repentance is not fear. It's confidence in God's mercy. The ultimate demonstration of Joel 2:13 is found at the cross. God did not ignore sin. Jesus bore it. God did not compromise justice. Jesus satisfied it. God did not withhold mercy. Jesus secured it. The cross is where justice and mercy meet. Joel 2:25-26 NIV “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm— my great army that I sent among you.You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. The God Who Restores This is one of God's specialties. Throughout Scripture, God takes broken things and creates beauty. The enemy writes stories of destruction. God writes stories of redemption. The enemy destroys. But God rebuilds. Joel says: The story is not over. God specializes in restoration. GOD’S ULTIMATE ANSWER IS HIS PRESENCE Joel's greatest promise is not agricultural recovery. It's spiritual renewal. Joel 2:28-29 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. This was revolutionary. The Spirit would not be reserved for only kings, priests, or prophets. God's presence would become available to all His people. Acts 2 - Peter stands up and says "This is That" and quotes from Joel... God is still preparing a Spirit-filled people. Filled with God presence thru the Spirit… Why? …The deepest restoration is not external prosperity. It is renewed intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit. Joel 3 hints at the Day of the Lord again... God will ultimately judge all nations, all peoples and justice will be served… It will be the “righting of the wrongs” Joel 3:14 Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive. 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.” For the Christian, we have HOPE — we appear to find our names written in the Book of Life - our lives covered by the sacrifice of Christ and we are covered by what he endured, accomplished and forgiven through His shedding of blood, the forgiveness of our sins. But God will one day make all things right and set things right… The central message of Joel is: "The pathway from devastation to restoration begins with a wholehearted return to God." The God who called Israel home is still calling people home today. The God who restored ruined fields - still restores ruined lives. The God who poured out His Spirit at Pentecost still fills His people today. And the invitation remains the same: "Yet even now," declares the Lord, "return to Me with all your heart.” ==the path from ruin to renewal always starts in the heart. God wants your heart, not your lip service or monotonous religious observances Mark 7:6 Jesus replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Friends: Fans give lip service & go through the motions (fans cheer from a distance) But Followers of Jesus always aim to keep their hearts close to Jesus. (Intimacy is only experienced in proximity)

A series on identity As Followers of Jesus, we are more than just members of the same organization. We are members of the same family! That is who we are meant to be. Click on the link below to download/view that complete series or individual materials for adults, Youth & Kids.

There are at least 2 really beautiful love stories in the Old Testament. One is between David and his friend Jonathan. The other is between Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi. These love stories have nothing to do with hormones or romance and everything to do with loyalty, sacrifice, devotion, character and fidelity. The love that we experience in Christ. This is the story of Ruth’s character, Providential Hand of God and also the Provisional Hand of God, what you don’t see in Ruth are miracles. Miracles are God working beyond or against ordinary means. What miracles look like: Seas parting Dead rising Blind seeing Food multiplying Fire falling from heaven Instant healing Have you seen what you feel is a Miracle? PROVIDENTIAL HAND OF GOD Providence is God working through ordinary means. What providence looks like: People making choices Weather patterns Timing of events "Coincidences" that are too perfect to be coincidences Natural cause-and-effect Human decisions that God bends toward His purposes The providential hand of God is rarely seen by looking at our current situation, never seen by looking ahead and can often be recognized by looking to the past. MY STORY: After leaving several colleges because I was flunking out, I gave up on what I thought I had to do and signed up for the draft because I didn’t know what else to do. On my way home from signing up for the draft, I heard on the radio that the army needed helicopter pilots. I turned around and signed up to fly. This led to many other events in my life that led me closer to God. None of these things happened until I gave up on my way. Everyone who belongs to Christ has his/her Providential event stories in their life. Think for a moment. Can you point to what must have been God’s providential hand on your life? THE PROVISIONAL HAND OF GOD GOD’S PROVISION FOR THE POOR in the Old Testament centers on a system of built‑in justice, not random charity. The Mosaic Law created structural, economic, and social protections so the poor, widow, orphan, and foreigner could survive with dignity. Agricultural Provision: Gleaning Laws, We will see this as we get into the story of Ruth. Economic Provision: Open‑Handed Lending, “Do not be hardhearted or tightfisted.” “Freely lend them whatever they need.” “Give generously… without a grudging heart.” (Deuteronomy 15:7–11) The Third‑Year Tithe (Storehouse Tithe) Every third year, Israel stored a special tithe specifically for: The Poor: The Levite, The foreigner, The fatherless, The widow (Deuteronomy 14:28–29). This created a local safety net in every town. Ruth 1:1  During the time[a] of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi.[b] The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there. During the time of the Judges, This could have happened about Judges chapter 10. Jair was probably the Judge. The land of Israel was going through a time of judgement. This placed a hardship on the people of Israel. They did what people all over the world have done. They immigrated to another country to find better opportunities for their family. However, these were not just any people they were of the chosen nation of God. They were choosing to leave the land God had given them. To make matters worse they were going to a land that God had told them to have nothing to do with.  Deuteronomy 23: 3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the Lord’s assembly; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the Lord’s assembly. 4 This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you. 5 Yet the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but he turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. 6 Never pursue their welfare or prosperity as long as you live.  Elimelech looked at their situation and leaning on all the understanding he had, he chose to leave the land God had given him. Now his children would be raised in a culture dominated with service to the god Chemosh. Does anyone remember a verse that says something about leaning on your own understanding? Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Let’s meet the characters of the book of ruth. I wondered how they came up with names for their children. Did they wait a little while and determine the temperament of the child before naming him. Did the name indicate the aspirations of the family for the child. Ruth 1: 3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband. After Elimelech died, her boys each took a Moabite woman for his wife. This was strictly forbidden; however, you get the idea that following God was not high on their priority list. This was the way it was during the time of the judges. People were doing what was right in their own site. Then as if things could not have gotten worse for Naomi both of her sons die. She was broken and wanted to go home. Like the prodigal son who understood his lostness, she wanted to go home. Ruth1:6 She and her daughters-in-law set out to return from the territory of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to his people’s need by providing them food. 7 She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah. Her daughters-in-law loved her and did not want to leave her. She saw no future for them with her. They were Moabite women who were going to find themselves in a totally different culture. Ruth 1:8 Naomi said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show kindness to you as you have shown to the dead and to me. 9 May the Lord grant each of you rest in the house of a new husband.” She kissed them, and they wept loudly. 10 They said to her, “We insist on returning with you to your people.” In the middle of Naomi’s grief and hurt she thought to the needs of Ruth and Orpha. This has to be one of the lowest points in Naomi’s life. She has lost her husband, her two boys and now she must convince her to daughters-in-law to leave her. She would move on totally alone. An old woman in what could be a hostile world. One of the most divine statements in the Bible could apply here, “But God”. The Lord was not going to let Naomi proceed alone. He had other plans. We would call this the providential hand of God. We can see it plainly because we are looking back on it, but Naomi did not have a clue. Ruth 1:11 But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why do you want to go with me? Am I able to have any more sons who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters. Go on, for I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me to have a husband tonight and to bear sons, 13 would you be willing to wait for them to grow up? Would you restrain yourselves from remarrying?[c]  This logic is strange to western culture. The idea that Naomi would hold herself responsible for providing her two daughters-in-law with a son that they could marry. The levirate marriage: If a brother dies without his wife having a son, his brother would marry her and the first male child would legally be the heir of the dead brother. This would keep the dead brother’s property and name in the family. An example of this is found in Genesis 38. Judah had three sons, Er, Onan and his youngest Shelah. Tamar became the wife of the Er, the oldest. He died without having any children, Tamar marries Onan, he died without having any children. Juda refuses to give his youngest son to Tamar. He did not want another son to die. Read the story in Genesis to find our how Tamar winds up in the linage of Christ. Naomi was saying that this in impossible in her situation so Ruth and Orpah should return home where they could get married and have children of their own. Ruth 1:13B No, my daughters, my life is much too bitter for you to share, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me.”  Everything that Naomi had hoped for was lost. She felt that the Lord was against her. Given her circumstances we might agree. But we know what Naomi did not know. God was providentially drawing Naomi back home. She had absolutely no idea of the joy God had instore for her.  Ruth 1:14 Again they wept loudly, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Follow your sister-in-law.” With this comes some of the most beautiful words in the Bible. You may have had these words spoken at your wedding. 16 But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. . For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me. 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped talking to her. The Gaithers have put this beautifully to music. The providential hand of God has placed Ruth firmly in Naomi’s life. Now Naomi must face the people she left behind when she and her husband ventured to Moab. Naomi comes home depressed. So much about her future she does not have a clue about. Leaning on her own understanding she sees very little to be hopeful about. We have already quoted Proverbs 3:5-8 This is an encouragement to us that no matter how loudly our understanding screams at us, we can continue to take the next step. This is a lot easier to say than it is to live out. However, it is a promise of God and God is always true to His word. Ruth 1:19 The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival[e] and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” 20 “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,”[f] she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has opposed[g] me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” Like the prodigal son she left her home full of hope but returned with little hope. Also like the prodigal, God has much more instore for her than dying a beggar in her hometown. Ruth 1:22 So Naomi came back from the territory of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Who can see God’s providential hand in this verse? The harvesting began with the barley harvest and when that was over you had the wheat harvest. In all that is 7 to 10 weeks of harvest. Why is this important? Naomi and Ruth came into town with little or no resources. How are they going to sustain themselves. Ruth 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side. He was a prominent man of noble character from Elimelech’s family. His name was Boaz. This piece of information is just stuck in the story for later use. God made provision for the poor. Ruth 2:2 Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone with whom I find favor?” Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family. Don’t you just love the use of the words, “She happened” Again, the providential hand of God. Gleaning is a provisional hand of God. When you harvest your fields: Ruth 2:4 Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.” “The Lord bless you,” they replied. This tells us about the character of Boaz. He had established a culture in his workforce which honored the Lord. The ideal Boss. Ruth 2:5-7 Boaz asked his servant who was in charge of the harvesters, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 The servant answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the territory of Moab. 7 She asked, ‘Will you let me gather fallen grain among the bundles behind the harvesters?’ She came and has been on her feet since early morning, except that she rested a little in the shelter.”[a] Boaz caught sight of Ruth and asked his foreman who this woman was. She was a stranger, not someone Boaz had seen before so he was curious. His foreman tells of her relation to Naomi. He had heard of this Moabite who came to town with Naomi. The foreman continues with how polite and humble she was asking if she might glean. Then the foreman goes on about what a hard worker she was. Needless to say Boaz is impressed. Ruth 2:8-9 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter.[b] Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but stay here close to my female servants. 9 See which field they are harvesting, and follow them. Haven’t I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled.” Ruth was a young Moabite widowed woman. This placed her on about the lowest rung of the social ladder. She had no reason to expect any kindness. She was in a very vulnerable position. For Boaz to show her any preference was totally unexpected. This has been compared to our position before God before salvation. Our sin placed us totally outside the camp of God. We could have no expectations of warranting God’s favor. Yet he chose to bestow it on us. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Boaz goes up to Ruth and calls her daughter. Then he proceeds to show her favor. She is dumb founder. Why would such a man have anything to do with me. 10 She fell facedown, bowed to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor with you, so that you notice me, although I am a foreigner?” 11 Boaz answered her, “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me: how you left your father and mother and your native land, and how you came to a people you didn’t previously know. 12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” The benefits of good character. Proverbs 22:1 — “A good name is more desirable than great riches.” Ruth’s reputation had reached Boaz even though he had never met her before this. God’s providence had placed Ruth in that field. Ruth’s character shaped the outcome. 13 “My lord,” she said, “I have found favor with you, for you have comforted and encouraged your servant, although I am not like one of your female servants.” Can you imagine the encouragement that having a prominent Godly man of the village pay attention to her and show her favor. She went from barely hanging on to hope, to being encouraged. 14 At mealtime Boaz told her, “Come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce.” So she sat beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some left over. Boaz shows her more attention than one would expect him to show the widowed daughter-in-law of a relative. He was likely becoming twitterpated. 15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her even gather grain among the bundles, and don’t humiliate her. 16 Pull out some stalks from the bundles for her and leave them for her to gather. Don’t rebuke her.” 17 So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening. Boaz is definitely twitterpated. After gathering grain all day she still has work to do. She beat out what she had gathered, and it was about twenty-six quarts[c] of barley. 18 She picked up the grain and went into the town, where her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what she had left over from her meal and gave it to her. I got tired just reading all the things she did. This young lady knew how to work. Ruth had herself quite a day. She started her day being a little-known Moabite woman in a town just trying to get food for her and Naomi to eat. Then she accidentally finds herself in Boaz’s field. She then goes from being well thought of to getting special privileges. At the end of the day, she had a very influential, Godly man looking out for her best interest. She also had a lot to tell Naomi. We can see the providential hand of God all through the day. Ruth 2:19 Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you gather barley today, and where did you work? May the Lord bless the man who noticed you.” Ruth told her mother-in-law whom she had worked with and said, “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.” Naomi starts to do her happy dance. Examples of The Providential Hand of God 20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May the Lord bless him because he has not abandoned his kindness to the living or the dead.” Naomi continued, “The man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.” 21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished all of my harvest.’” 22 So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work[d] with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.” 23 Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s female servants and gathered grain until the barley and the wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with[e] her mother-in-law.

Dear Roger, I’m really struggling with my church. So many people seem to be hypocritical—they just don’t live out what they say on Sunday during the rest of the week. What should I do? Sincerely, Kyle Dear Kyle, First, we must clearly define hypocrisy. The word “hypocrisy” comes from the Greek masks of comedy and tragedy. The actor reads the comedy lines and then changes to a mask of tragedy and reads those lines. He was not called an actor. He was called a “Hypocritos,” which means “One who hides behind a mask.” Everyone wears masks. One mask Julie and I sometimes put on is the one we call “Church Face.” We were in San Diego on a family vacation with our children and Julie’s mom and dad. Grandparents and grandchildren don’t mix well at Sea World. We stepped behind the bushes to have a rather heated discussion as to what to do next. Suddenly, a couple from our church walked up. Instantly, the fighting stopped, and we all put on “Church Face!” After they left, we all marveled at how quickly we transitioned from fighting family to loving Christians. We were well practiced at using the “Church Face” mask. Fortunately, as we have matured in Christ, that mask is lost somewhere in the back of the closet. We seldom feel the need to utilize it. We all want to put our best foot forward. No one wants to display character traits that are not the best! The problem occurs when we are attempting to lead double lives! There is a difference between hypocrisy and occasionally putting on the proper masks in social settings. Hypocrisy occurs when we claim to be someone we are not, and we wear a fake mask most all of the time. Hypocritical living promotes all sorts of dysfunctional behavior—and can lead to dysfunctional behavior in our spiritual lives as well. As teenagers, we wear four or five masks depending on the social group we’re associating with at any moment. We have different masks for peers, parents, teachers, acquaintances, and close friends. How we represent ourselves to one group will be different than how we represent ourselves to another. We are subconsciously in the process of deciding who we will be as we transition into adulthood. Eventually, we decide and then discard all the other masks. Unfortunately, many people keep several masks and never figure out who they really are. Hopefully, early on in our Christian faith, we decide that we will live what we believe. In other words, “I am a Christian, and who you see is who I really am.” But few of us throw away the other masks all at once. As we grow to spiritual maturity, more and more masks are discarded until only one is left. When people think of us, we remind them of the Lord Jesus. Paul revealed that as we mature, we even throw away the last mask: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). People are watching, especially non-Christians. Don’t let them down. Hypocrisy Is the First Recorded Sin in the Christian Church The church of Jesus Christ began so beautifully. The Acts 4:32-37 church was filled with generosity, unselfishness, and love. The early first-century Christians were known as the people who loved God and loved each other. Unfortunately, we don’t get past Acts chapter 5 before we see that the church is ripped apart by Satan’s schemes. Acts 5 is the first description of sin in the New Testament church. The devastation began when Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of property for $2000 and kept back $500 for themselves. There was nothing wrong with their gift, but they lied to Peter and told him they were giving the full amount to the church. They had no intention of doing so. God put both husband and wife to death instantaneously. Today, God still takes hypocrisy very seriously, especially in the shepherds who lead and teach his flock! When I was in seminary, I worked for a highly successful pastor who was caught in bed with another man’s wife. Her husband had suspicions, so one day, he came home early from work. There they were. The pastor’s car was hidden in the garage. We all were shocked when his sin was exposed. His duplicity spilled over into shock, anger, shame, embarrassment, and rejection to all who knew him. The church family was decimated, especially when it came out that he’d been involved in sexual promiscuity since his days in college. He loved beautiful blonde women. Such a tragedy! His own wife was stunning and loved him with all her heart. Several months later, he was walking in downtown Dallas when he had a brain aneurysm. This popular pastor died in the hospital several hours later. No Church Is Perfect! The church is a hospital for sin-sick souls. We are all fallen, sinful creatures. Only God can unmask us. People often say, “Well, I want to go back to the First Century Church. That was the true church. I say, “Which first-century church do you want to attend?” The Roman church? Paul wrote about them in Romans 16:17: “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who are causing church division among you” (NIV). The Corinthian Church? Paul said to them, “I can’t speak to you as spiritual, but as carnal, because you’re fighting each other all the time” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NIV). The Galatian Church? Paul chided them, “Oh foolish Galatians, who tricked you? You began in the spirit, and now you’re finishing in the flesh” (Galatians 3:1 NIV). The Ephesian Church? Their love for Jesus was faltering (See Revelation 2:4 NIV). The Philippian Church? Two women, Euodia and Syntyche, were spoiling the church unity by their fighting (See Philippians 4:2 NIV). The Colossian Church? Paul repeated a whole list of good things that they had in Christ, and then said, “But not all is well. There’s sin in your church!” (See Colossians 3:7-9 NIV). The Best Way to Heal Hypocrisy in the Church Is to Examine Your Own Heart Ask yourself these questions: Have you ever led people to believe that you are better at some things than you really are? Have you ever put people “down” so that you feel better about yourself while they feel less about themselves? Have you ever said, “I love you” to someone when you really don’t? Have you ever told someone that you like them when you really despise or hate them? Do you ever brag about yourself in a way that causes people to think more highly of you than they really should? Have you ever given the impression that you had your life “together” and they don’t? Do you ever intentionally put others down so that you can look better than they look? Have you ever criticized others’ failures when your problems are similar? Have you ever told people the things about yourself that you want others to know instead of what is true? Have you ever lied about things that happened to cover up what you did? Have you ever lied to gain the acceptance of others? Have you ever given money to gain the praise of men? Have you ever tried to impress others with your spirituality? Have you ever pretended to be excited about service for the Lord when you are merely doing it out of obligation? Have you ever pretended to be spiritual when you know that you are not? Do you ever pretend to have pure, moral thoughts while all the time yielding to lustful thoughts and fantasies? Do you ever pretend to be close to God while not desiring or enjoying a relationship with him? Do you ever pray to impress others with your spirituality? Have you ever committed a sin and continued living as if nothing had happened? List adapted from “ Freedom In Christ Ministries ” Dr. Neil Anderson, founder. How Can I Be Free from the Sin of Hypocrisy? We all struggle with hypocrisy at times—but when we seek to live according to God’s will, He will give us the ability to change! Start here: Consciously choose to take off your mask. Ask the Holy Spirit to identify areas of hypocrisy in your life so that you can live with integrity. Repent and ask Jesus for forgiveness so that you may have a fresh beginning. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict you of the sin of hypocrisy. Listen to the people who listen to God. In other words, invite some of the wise and godly people who know you to point out areas of hypocrisy you might’ve missed. Well, I hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions. Love, Roger

Have you counted the cost of following Jesus? Today: counting the cost. Contractors love to dream big. Hard to deliver. 28% average cost overrun. Comic. Some of the worst in history: Sydney Opera House (1959): $7M estimated. $102M final. (4 years planned, 14 years total) Montreal Olympic Stadium (1976): C$40M. C$836M (20x!) What does it cost to follow Jesus? Before you follow—know the cost. Luke 14:25-27 (family, cross) Luke 14:28-30: Tower: built to guard a vineyard/house. Foundation. Background: Herod Antipas: one of the three building projects he accomplished during his 35 year reign were the fortifications in Sepphoris, only three miles away from Nazareth. It’s likely Joseph would have worked there. Nearby were two rock quarries: Kefar Kenna and Khirbet Cana. 90% of construction was with stone. Jesus grew up a (teknon’s) contractor’s son: he knew the need to prepare the costs. Twice: also Luke 20:17. The Jews knew well the cost of construction. Taxes spiked to 20-50% under the reign of Herod the Great. Greatest builder in the history of Israel: five fortresses, the second temple. Jews loved the temple. Hated taxes. Developing world construction. Rocky Point -- has many unfinished buildings. The rich young man: what you want! Mark 10:17-22. Run after him and lessen. Descriptive v. prescriptive. Grace is free, but it costs us everything. Not an optimized life "the life you always wanted." Not a cheap salesman. What is it going to cost? Repentance: me: giving up pastoring. Angel: homeless in the streets of Princeton. Defending myself. Control. Reputation. Luke 14:28-3- 1. Count the cost. Comfort. Respect. Control. Money. Reputation. Friendships. Suffering. Jesus counted the cross. Heaven for us. 2. Pay the cost: Matthew 13:44; treasure. Sell everything. Don't delay. Give away so little. Get: Christ, character, inheritance. Security. Release your will to God's will. Our plans are so small. Jeus paid the cost. 3. Trust the Master Craftsman God is the master craftsman: Ephesians 2:10. Philippians 1:6: the master Craftsman has no incomplete jobs.

Daniel the prophet was a great man. He was dedicated, disciplined, excellent of spirit and a mighty leader. How do we develop good habits? Small, consistent changes transform us. We are not successful when we hit our goal somewhere in the future! We are successful when we’ve honored God today. - Well, it's incredibly emotionally to me just to watch and see the looks in people's eyes when they go under water this weekend to be baptized. And I hope you'll join me in thanking the goodness of God that we get to see over 1,200 people, believe it or not, say yes to Jesus, going public in baptism, and the reality that every single one of those people have a story. I read through just a few of the stories and want to give a little shout out. Alicia from the Stillwater campus, one, I thank God that you survived the car wreck and are able to walk again. But also I congratulate you on two years of being clean. And we celebrate your baptism today. From Overland Park, Kimberly, you said you didn't think that God could forgive you. His grace is real. You are new, and the old is gone, and we praise God for your baptism today. And Donya from Rio Rancho. I am heartbroken that you lost your marriage, but I thank God that you see there are new chances, there is grace, and we congratulate you today and every person who's being baptized. It's amazing to realize we're part of something where so many lives are being changed. We are in a message series called Habits, and what I want to do just to start the message today is ask you to think about your last normal day. If you work, what did you do at the beginning of your work day? You might say I'm a stay-at-home parent. That is a job and you need a raise. Whatever you did on the last normal day, think about what you did when you woke up. Here's what I know. The odds are very, very high that what you did on that day was very similar to what you did on the normal day before that. In other words, if your alarm woke you up that day, you probably were awakened by your alarm the day before. Or if you just normally get up with no alarm, you probably got up on that day with no alarm again because you probably did something similar to the day before. You probably went to the bathroom somewhere early in the day and then you probably did something like the day before, which might be check social media, maybe check your email, maybe read your Bible, maybe do a little workout, perhaps make coffee, maybe make some food. You probably took a shower, which is good, or you may not be employed if you don't do that every day. You probably got to work a similar way as you did the day before. You probably worked with the same people, did similar things. You probably got home the same way. If you drove, what's very scary is you probably don't even remember the drive home, like you just kinda automatically got home. You probably had a normal evening routine. You might work out in the evening, or you might do fast food normally, or you might cook the meal and then gripe at everybody who didn't help cook the meal because they didn't clean up the dishes afterwards and they didn't say thank you, and you have every right to do that in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. You might have a normal routine with your kids. You put three kids in the bathtub, one always escapes. You always find that kid, throw him back in the bathtub. Once the kids are done, you have an evening routine. It might be you look at social media, you binge-watch Netflix. It could be that you spend prayer time or you journal. At the end of the day, maybe you leaned over to your spouse and made a move, you got rejected again, you went to bed upset. I don't know what your day is like. But chances are it was pretty similar, a lot of similarities to the day before. In fact, if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. Most of what or much of what you normally do isn't a result of conscious choices but of daily habits. Much of what you do every single day is not a result of a decision that you make, but of a habit that you already have in your life. In fact, Duke University did a study in 2006, and what they found is that fully 40% of the actions that you take in any given day are not a result of decisions, but are a result of habits. 40% of what you do every single day is a result of habits. That's why if you wanna change where you're going in life, if you wanna change who you're becoming in life, we have to change our habits. If you were with us last week, I recommended a few different books, one of them is the book called Atomic Habits by James Clear, and he talks about the reality that many people have similar goals. Think about it, we all wanna have good relationships. If you're a Christian, you wanna be close to God, you wanna make a difference in this world. I don't know anybody who wants to drown in debt. Most of us wanna have some financial freedom or flexibility. Most of us wanna be healthy. The reality is that so many of us have similar goals, but we have dramatically different results, why? James Clear writes this, because goals don't determine success, but systems determine success. A quote from his book I like was this. You don't rise to the level of your goals, but you fall to the level of your systems. I wanna talk today about systems from a spiritual perspective, and I'm gonna show you a powerful example of a guy who had a system. Or we could say he had one habit that helped shape him to become the person that God wanted him to become. We took a brief look at him last week. I wanna take a more detailed look this week. His name is Daniel. And if you've grown up, maybe you were in Sunday school and you know who Daniel is in the Old Testament. When you think of Daniel, most people think of Daniel in the lion's den. That's impressive that he had the faith to stand down lions and survive, but to me, what's also really impressive is there were 120 young leaders who stood out in the nation, and of the 120 top leaders, Daniel stood out amongst all of them as having exceptional qualities. In fact, here's what scripture says in Daniel six, chapter three. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the entire kingdom. Why in the world did Daniel stand out? What was it that made him who he was? He might've had a spirit of excellence, maybe great leadership gifts, maybe he was good relationally. We don't know exactly what it was, but there was something in the life of Daniel that caused him to stand out amongst 120 top people around. Before we answer the question of what made him stand out, I wanna tell you what kinda happened. He became popular with the king, he was gonna get promoted. There were a lot of people that didn't like him. Anytime you rise in success, you have people that don't like you, and so his enemies decided to try to take him down. They looked for any kind of weakness, any kind of flaw in his character, any kind of defect so they could trip him up. But they had a problem finding it. Scripture says this in verse four. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to found grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. So what they wanted to do, is they wanted to trip him up. They couldn't find any flaw or weakness, so they determined the only way we can trip him up is to do something about his God. This guy is so into his God, that that's the only chance we have of getting him to make some kind of mistake. So what they did is they tricked the king into issuing a decree, that if anyone prays to anyone except the king in the next 30 days, that they would have to be thrown in the lion's den. Daniel stood out. He was so distinguished that amongst 120 top leaders, he was the one that rose to the top. What was it that made him who he was? I would argue it was a system. Or it was one very small habit that over time shaped his identity and gave him confidence to be who God created him to be. I'll show you this system. Daniel 6:10 says this, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, don't miss it, here it comes, are you ready for it, here it is. He gave thanks to God just as he had done before. What did Daniel do? Not once a day. Not twice a day. But three times a day. Not when it was convenient. Not when it was easy. Not when you'd watch every good show on Amazon Prime. But every single day he stopped, he sought God, he listened for the voice of God, he brought his burdens before God, he petitioned to God, he let God direct his steps, three times a day, as he had done before. He prioritized his life around intimate time with his Heavenly Father. What did Daniel do? He lived a habit, a system. Fellowship, intimacy, time with God. One small discipline. What I would say to you is this. Never underestimate how our God can start something big through one small habit. Never underestimate what God might do, something special, something powerful, something that impacts a lot of people that starts with one single, small act of obedience. Our God loves to take small acts of faithfulness and do something special through those things. In fact, what I'm gonna do today is I'm gonna share with you a little bit of what's helped shape me. For three decades now, if you can imagine that, I'm 51, probably a little more than three decades, I have started one new discipline a year. One small, little seemingly insignificant discipline. If you look at the totality of the 30 years, I had a few years where it didn't take. I had a couple that I dropped along the way. But I would say with complete confidence, sincerity, and integrity that I have 20-plus disciplines that are now in my life that were started one small discipline, one year at a time. And there's not a single one that's made me a great husband to Amy, a good dad to my kids, an effective leader, or closer to God. But all of them together over time have helped reshape how I see myself, renew my mind toward truth, change my body and my posture, my spiritual confidence, all of them together have made a real difference. One small discipline a year. I'll share a few of these with you. My first one that I started was flossing. And I'm not talking about that, you know. Although I am practicing, I may master that before the end of the year. Could be my new discipline to learn to floss. Flossing my teeth, the reason why I did that is because I hate flossing. And this one small, simple act tells me I am a person who chooses right over comfort. I am a disciplined person. Years ago, I determined that to be close to God, I had to have some disciplines in my life. In other words, nobody just stumbles into intimacy with God, like aw man, I was just sitting, and bop, I got close to God, wow, that was amazing. Nobody accidentally becomes full of spiritual strength, power, and faith. And so years ago, I started the discipline of tithing. Very simple, one discipline. Any time God blesses me, I choose in that moment to honor him and put him first. It's a constant consistent reminder that he is my source, my provider, the goodness, and so I worship in the tithe. When I met Amy, when we were dating, even before we were married, we made a choice together that we worship God every week at church. And so we have. I promise you, there has never one time been a conversation in my house where any kid has ever said, are we gonna go to church this weekend? Because that is not something we talk about. You can ask my kids, we're on vacation in the mountains, we're there on a Sunday, we find a little Baptist church, a little Bible church, and we go to church. Because that's what we do, we are people of God, and it's a priority to us. I decided years ago that I needed to learn God's word, so I decided to read the Bible every day. I want you to notice that the fact that I'm telling you I decided to do it meant there was a time I did not. Just to make you feel better, okay? I read the Bible, then I decided to read the Bible one year from front to back. It's probably been 17, maybe 18 years that I've done that over time, started it years ago. I started journaling, and then I failed one year. I started another year, and I failed again. I finally found a five year journal where you only journal five lines, I'm on year number five 'cause I can do five lines of journaling what God is doing in my life. I used to not pray with Amy. There are a lot of reasons, the biggest of which, it takes her about 45 minutes just to get warmed up. I mean, like, okay, she's not here at this service, so don't tell her I said that, but-- Get on with it, God's like going, get on with it, Amy. And so I just didn't do it. And so one year, we created a discipline. Before I leave for work, we join hands and we pray. It's a very short prayer, but every day we're connecting with God. If you've been with us for a while, you know that I used to, I started declarations a few years ago. I had some insecurities, some wrong thinking, and so I declare spiritual truth, say it out loud, to renew my mind. I've got other categories, and I can go on and on. With health, years ago, man, I could drink more Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew than any five of you put together. I quit drinking soft drinks, only water. One year, I limited myself to one dessert a week, then one cheat meal a week, now my diet is much stricter. And I can go on and on and on and on. I go back to one habit that helped make all this possible. One of the books that I recommended to you was The Power of Habits by Charles Duhigg, and he talks about what he calls a keystone habit. What you'll do in your life is you will find there are certain habits that when you have them in place, they help propel you on to other helpful, God-honoring disciplines. Daniel stopped to pray three times a day. This was a keystone habit that I promise you brought other elements into his life that helped him become who he was supposed to become. The presence of that one habit, when I floss, I tell myself I'm disciplined. Therefore, I go to bed on time, I get up on time, I do my Bible reading plan, I go to work, I have a productive day, I come home in a good mood, I kiss my wife, and that is why we have six kids for the glory of God. If I do not floss, I don't feel disciplined, I hit snooze on the alarm, I don't have time to do my Bible plan, I rush into work, I'm not productive, I have a bad day, therefore I have to stay late. I know Amy's gonna be mad at me, so I drove home really, really fast, a police officer tries to pull me over, I don't want a ticket, so I try to outrun him. Eventually four of them capture me, put me in jail, all because I didn't floss. And you can tell that I'm slightly exaggerating, but not by much. I was going over this message with some staff members from my floor, I always do that ahead of time, and there was a 25-year-old in there, and there was a 40-year-old in there, and they said, oh, don't tell 'em all your disciplines. They're not gonna like you. They'll be like, you're perfect, like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you don't understand. They said, that's just, that's unrealistic to do all those things. Look, you're 25 years old, I'm 51. You do this one a year, you're gonna have 26 disciplines. 26. One a year. The 40-year-old, you'll have 11 by the time you're my age. There's not a single one small discipline that really improved my marriage, dramatically improved my leadership, completely overhauled my relationship with God, but I promise you, one small one year over year consistently built my faith, changed my marriage, empowered me as a dad, and equipped me as a spiritual leader. What set Daniel apart? Three times a day, he stopped to have intimate fellowship with God, just as he had done before. Never underestimate how God might start something big, something special, through something very small, one act of obedience. If you were with us last week, we said let's start a little different way this year. Instead of starting with the do, what do I want to do, let's start with the who. Before we ask what do I wanna do, who does God want me to be? Who am I supposed to be? A godly parent, a bold witness, a person who's healthy, breaking generations of obesity in the fam, whatever it is, I wanna be a person that's clean and sober. Who do you want to be? Now we add another piece of application this week, and here is your one assignment. Based on who you want to become, what one habit do you need to start? Based on who God is calling you to be, what is one small discipline that will move you in that direction? And I wanna tell you right now, it's better if it's not big. Something small, it may be for you that you're not gonna hit the snooze button ever again. Listen to me, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Get up and go on with your day. It could be something incredibly small. You might say Bible before Instagram. Before I pull up social media, I'm gonna do my YouVersion plan for the day, or I'm gonna pray with my kids before they go to bed. But just one simple prayer. What do you do based on who you wanna become? You may say, I wanna be a person that cares about others. So for you, it's, I'm gonna write one note a day to express my gratitude or appreciation to someone in my life. Or I wanna be a person that's organized. So for you, you're gonna make your bed every day. Why, because you start the day that way. You wanna be a godly example to your kids, so you do a YouVersion reading plan with them, so every day there's this spiritual touchpoint together. You wanna be a person that's focused. You take out your little note card every day, three things. These are my three priorities, you do them every single day. You wanna be a person that's healthier, so you walk three times a week for 20 minutes or you eliminate soft, whatever it is. Based on who you wanna become, what one new habit do you need in place? What new system do you want that will take you where God wants to take you? Now some of you will say, well, I don't do systems. We all have systems. You either have systems by intent or by default, but you have systems. We all do. Your system may be hit the snooze button four times, get up late, kick the cat, yell at the kids, drive like a bat out of the dark place all the way to work with your hair wet, putting makeup on. Get at work, be grumpy all day, come home, yell at the kids, go to bed, and feel guilty. It's a system. It's not a good one, but it's a system. What new habit, based on who God wants you to become, do you need to create? In all the different books on habits I read, they all talk in different formats about the habit loop. Let me show you how this plays out. This is what happens in the life of everybody, habit loop. There is something that will be a trigger or a cue for you. You see something, you walk by the refrigerator, you get bored, you get angry, you get hungry, you get lonely, it's the end of the day, it's the beginning of the day, there's a trigger or there's a cue that always leads to an action or some sort of response. Then you do the act, you eat the piece of cake, you pray with your kids, you sleep in later, you yell at somebody, you eat a second hamburger. Whatever it is, there's an action. Then you get the reward, the dopamine, the sugar rush, the pleasure, the extra seven minutes of sleep, and then it goes back to the trigger. This is how habits are formed. There's a trigger, we see something, we feel something, we have an emotion, we go to the same type of action, we get a similar type of reward, and then the process repeats itself. How do we start a new habit? What we want is we want the trigger and the action to be two things, if you're taking notes. We wanna make it obvious, everybody say make it obvious. -Make it obvious. -And we wanna make it easy. Somebodyt say make it easy. -Make it easy. -The first thing we're gonna do is we're goanna make it obvious. If you wanna change what you do, then we're gonna change what we see. Make the trigger obvious. If you wanna take vitamins every day, put the vitamins out the night before you go to bed so when you wake up, boop, there's the trigger, I'm gonna take the vitamins. If you wanna be someone who is reading every night before you go to bed, take your book, put it out on the pillow at the beginning of the day. At the end of the day, yeah, oh, there's the trigger, it's really, really obvious. If you wanna write a note every day to encourage somebody, at the end of the day, put the note and the pen on your desk so when you walk in the next day, oh, there's a trigger, this is what I'm supposed to do every day, make it really obvious. Then make it easy, and this is what's so much fun. You don't need to say I'm gonna read through the whole Bible this year. If you try that, you might be done by the third week of January. Instead what you might do is simply say, this year, I'm gonna read one verse every single day, every day. Get a streak going on your YouVersion Bible app. Do you know there's streaks that tell you how long you've done it? Get a streak going, then every day you just open it up, first thing, and read the verse of the day. Here's my promise, if you do that for 27 days, you might just get an appetite to read two verses, and then one day you're reading a chapter. Start small and let it grow from there. You might say, I wanna pray with my spouse. But we don't know how to pray together. It's just too awkward and too intimate. I mean, I know we can have sex together, but we can't pray together. Should I have said that out loud, I don't know. But it just felt right in the moment, okay? I mean, we can just likebut we can't, you know, woo, okay, so I don't know. So we don't know how to do that, so what we're gonna do is just grab your spouse's hand and thank God for one thing, just one, every day. Thank you, God, that we have heat in our house on this cold day. Those of you in Florida, thank you, God, it's not cold here ever. Whatever, you know? Thank you, God, that we didn't kill one of our children. Thank you, one thing every single day. You want to journal, what do you do? One sentence, just start there. Here's where I saw God work today, one sentence. You might get carried away, have two sentences one day. And then one day you might be as good as me, five whole lines. I wanna get in better shape, something. 10 pushups, can't do 10, do five. Can't do five, do one. Can't do one, put your knees down. Do it the, can't do that, lay down on the ground and stand back up, do that once a day. Do something, start small, and see what happens. What are you doing? You're building a system. There's a cue, there's a trigger that tells me, after this, this is what I do because this is a new habit in my life. And here's how you'll write it out in your notes. You'll say this, you'll say I will do blank after I blank, there's your system. I will do blank after I blank. Daniel would've said this. After I eat my eggs, I pray. After I eat my ham, not a ham sandwich. After I, not a ham sandwich. After I eat my roast beef sandwich, I pray. After I eat my chicken dinner, I pray. I do this, and then I do this action. I will do blank after blank. My morning routine looks like this. My alarm goes off, I go to the bathroom first thing. I do my Bible plan, I spend time praying for similar things, and then whatever God puts on my heart. I do my daily declarations, I meditate on one truth. Then I make my oatmeal, I put my 12 berries in it, I take a shower, I shave, I get dressed. After I get dressed, I go pray with Amy, then I start my day. What I've got is, I've got a system, a routine that aligns my heart with God, renews my mind with truth, empowers me to do what God called me to do. Just a few small things started over a patter of time have helped shape who I've become. What's yours gonna be? It might be after I drink my coffee, I read one Bible verse. After I put my kids to bed, I do a 30-second plank. After I brush my teeth, I journal one sentence. After I journal one sentence, I grab my spouse's hand and we thank God for one thing. After we thank God for one thing, I look my spouse in the eyes and I let the Spirit lead me to wherever he leads me. Or what it is for you. But successful people do consistently what other people do occasionally. People who are close to God, but not there by accident, they have small disciplines that draw them close to God. People who are financially strong, they don't do it going shopping for whatever they wanted or they want. There's discipline, there's a plan, there's a mindset, there's habits. People who are in shape like you, doesn't happen going to all-you-can-eat buffet three times a day. It takes a plan. It takes some exercise. It takes some small disciplines consistently done over time. We all have similar goals, but we have incredibly different results. We don't have goal problems, we have system problems. We got habit problems. What set Daniel apart? Time with God three times a day. The biggest revelation I've had in my life in recent years is this. I'll just be honest with you, if you look from the outside, you might say, well, you've had some things that have fallen into place that might be called success. And yet I am never satisfied. I'm always wanting something else, something different, something more, and what I've realized is that I've been living with the wrong kinds of goals. My goals had been primarily means goals. What is a mean goal? A mean is a goal that leads to something else, it's a means to an end. How do you know if your life is full of means goals? Because on the other side of your goal, there's always a so. I wanna get good grades so I can go to a good school, so I can get a degree, so I can get a good job, so I can make enough money, so I can take her out on a date, so we can get married and go on a good honeymoon, so we can raise a family in a nice house, and so on. My goals have always had a so on the other side of it. The problem is this, whenever there's a so on the other side of it, then happiness or fulfillment or contentment or joy is always deferred to the future. There's always something else out there, it's always in the future. And what I've realized is that instead of setting means goals, what I wanna do is I wanna set end goals. And the only end that I can find on the other side of every so is not a what, but it's always a who. -Amen. -It's not what I'm getting or where I'm going or what I'm doing, but who I'm becoming. And the only end goal that ever seems to matter is if I become more like Christ. -Yeah, amen. - More like Christ. More of anything, why would I ever want it unless I could use it for his glory? More like Christ. And if that becomes the driving force of your life, then success is not somewhere out there, but you can be successful when you're obedient to him today. It's not some big result that's five years in the future. It's in a single act of faithfulness and obedience today. I am successful because I honored God today. So if there's always a so at the end of your goal, you're always gonna be reaching for something. My hope, my prayer, based on who God wants you to become, what one small act of obedience will you start today, and then find joy in it. I did what you called me to do. Wasn't big, but I was faithful in the small things, and guess what, God's word says that whenever you're faithful in the small things, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, God will trust you with big things. Be faithful to few, and God will trust you with more. But don't kid yourself. You're not successful when you get more. You're successful when you're faithful today. So Father, we ask that you would help us be faithful today. Stir, God, within us, the desire to please you, to find joy in pleasing you, even in the small ways. At all of our churches, as you reflect in prayer today, who does God want you to become? Based on who he wants you to become, what one small habit, make it easy, make it obvious, do it for the glory of God. All of our churches, those who say I'm gonna seek him, I'm gonna talk about it, talk about it in my life group, talk about it with my family. I'm gonna go public with it, this is real. I'm not gonna try to do 20, I'm gonna do one. And I'm gonna be faithful to God doing that one. Would you lift up your hands right now, all of our churches. Those who say I'm all in, I'm in, I'm in, I'm in, I'm in, man, hands going up all over the place. Thank you, God, speak to us. May we hear from you. God, help us be faithful, direct our steps more than anything else, God, that we could become like your Son, Jesus. Help us be obedient today, successful today in doing what you called us to do. And God, I thank you that when we're faithful with what you put before us, you may put more before us. But God, help us to not wait for the more to feel successful, but be fulfilled in being obedient to you even today. As you keep praying today at all of our different churches, we're talking about starting a new habit, a new discipline. Let's talk about the word start. There's some of you, you need to start a relationship with Jesus. What does that mean? I grew up going to church, and I believed in God, but I thought God was kind of some separate entity, some distant ruler and such. I had no idea that God sent Jesus, not only to save me from my sins, but to reveal the character and the nature and the goodness of God, that God wanted to have a relationship with me. What's the problem, why is it that just we can't just like openly talk and hear from God on our own? The problem is that we're sinners. Our sin separates us from God. God is so holy that sin separates us. And this is why Jesus was born without sin. This is why he was perfect, why he never sinned. He was the innocent sacrifice who became sin for us on the cross. He, the innocent one, died for us, the guilty. And by the grace and the goodness of God, God raised Jesus from the dead. He defeated death, hell, victory, and the grave, why? So that anyone who calls out on the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name, anyone who calls on the name of Jesus would be saved, would be forgiven. There are those of you here, if you're honest, you're not following Jesus, you're not walking with Jesus, he's not the dominant source of truth in your life, he's not your Savior, he's not the Lord of your life, and you realize you need to start something. How do you start a relationship? Very simply, we confess and acknowledge that we have sinned. We ask for his forgiveness and grace, and then we decide to follow him. He will direct your steps, he will make you new. At all of our churches, there are those of you, you recognize you're doing life without him. You're not here by accident, you're not watching by accident, God brought you here for this moment. You can sense it. Your decision is to start a relationship with him. I turn from my sins, I give my life to Jesus. Today, I give my life to him, that's your prayer. Lift your hands high right now all over the place and say yes. Right back here in this middle section, praise God for you, and over here as well, both of you here, sir, right back over there in this section others of you saying, yes, Jesus, I lift up my hand, I surrender to you. Back here in this section, praise God for you. Others of you today, I call on him, Jesus, save me. Church Online, you click right below me. As we have people coming to faith at all of our different churches, would you simply pray aloud with those around you. Pray, Heavenly Father. -Heavenly Father. - Forgive all my sins. - Forgive all my sins. - Make me brand-new. - Make me brand-new. - Jesus be first. - Jesus be first. - My Savior. - My Savior. - The Lord of my life. - The Lord of my life. - Fill me with your Spirit. - Fill me with your Spirit. - To direct my steps. - To direct my steps. - My life-- - My life-- - Is not my own. - Is not my own. - I give it all to you. - I give it all to you. - Help me to show your love. - Help me to show your love. - And honor your name. - And honor your name. - In all I do. - In all I do. - Thank you for new life. - Thank you for new life. - I give you all of mine. - I give you all of mine. - In Jesus' name I pray. Could somebody celebrate today, somebody thank God for new life in Christ.

Proverbs 14:30: “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” Envy causes us to compare and compete with others in an unhealthy way. It brings arrogance when we’re winning and discouragement when we’re not. It robs us of contentment and causes us to feel like—as an ancient king put it—we’re chasing after the wind. But envy doesn’t have to be the boss. As we get started, a quick survey and I'd for you to raise your hand and everybody play along and if you're watching at home, play along or if you're driving keep one hand on the steering wheel. How many of you actually are on Instagram? I'm just curious. Not right this minute but like, you do Instagram. Yeah, okay. Yeah, most of us. But I was kinda late to the whole Instagram thing. It seemed like a girl thing to me to be honest and then I realized, oh! There's all kinda cool stuff on here. And the great, the great thing, the great thing about Instagram is, I mean, like, the really, really great thing about Instagram is... Anyway, the problem, really, if I'm just honest, the problem with Instagram is that now that I'm on Instagram, I find I'm constantly needing a new pair of shoes and this is embarrassing to talk about because I never really thought about shoes and every once in a while at Christmas or something, Sandra would show up with some shoes. I'm like, are those cool? Okay, I'll wear those. I never thought about it. Now that I'm in Instagram, I have more shoes. Okay. I have almost as many shoes, I think sometimes, as Sandra. It's just ridiculous. And I, again, I just never gave them any, much thought to shoes or shiplap. Now we have shiplap in our house, okay? I never gave much thought to that. I never gave any thought to your cute kids and I can't go back and redo all of our family pictures 'cause they're on film. You remember that. Like, what can you do with that? So now I take pictures of pictures to put on Instagram. It's so lame. I'm also bothered by all the incredible vacations you have. Like, they look amazing. You go places I've never been. In fact, I've gone to some of those places but it didn't look near as cool as it was when you went with your cool pictures. I'm very bothered by the cool young preachers and they're overpriced sneakers. That's starting to bother me a little bit too. You know? So I thought well the way to solve this is I'm just not gonna look. So I just, I just quit. I thought I'm gonna get off Instagram. Then I though, wait a minute. I'm not a quitter. So I got back on. I thought, no, I'm not a quitter. I'm just gonna up my game and I'm gonna make you as discontent with your life as you have made me with my life and so I'm gonna start using better filters. I'm gonna crop it a little bit closer and kinda, you know, edit out all the stuff and I'm just gonna take it over and over and over and over until I get the perfect picture and I'm gonna put on Instagram the highlight reel of my life so that it'll make your lame life look even lamer, right? No, the great thing about Instagram, it really is, the great thing about Instagram is that it is a constant reminder, and we all need reminding of this, it is a constant reminder that there really is no win in comparison. There is absolutely, you've hear me say that before. There really is no win in comparison and the reason I talk about that is because we are in part three of this series called, "You Are Not the Boss of Me". You're not the boss of me and the subtitle says it all. How to, because this is a how to series, how to say, "No", to the emotions that compete for control. How to say, "No", to the emotions that compete for control because all of us have two or three emotions that compete for control of our lives. Specifically, they compete for control of our mouths and then our mouths get us into trouble because we let those emotions be the boss of us. Jesus said it perfectly. Here's how he set up and this is where we're going for the rest of the series. He said this, he said, "Don't you see", talking to his disciples, "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and our of the body", to which they said as we said last week, yes, we see that. We see it two or three times a day. Or, is this gonna be in the Bible? Are we gonna, anyway, he says, "I'm just getting your attention". He says, "But, here's the real point", "But the things that come out of a person's mouth", the other end, "the things that come out of a person's mouth they actually come from the heart", what comes out of your mouth comes from your heart, and what comes out of your mouth from your heart actually is what defiles you. Eating the wrong things doesn't defile you before God it's what comes out of your mouth that defiles you before God because what comes out of your mouth puts you at odds with God when it puts you at odds with other people and God is most concerned about what comes out and how it effects people then he is about what goes in and in a culture that was all about a dietary law, this was like what? He goes, "Yeah". God is not petty. God is not small. God is not overly concerned with what you accidentally eat but he is very concerned about what comes out of your mouth if it hurts other people because if you hurt people God loves, you set yourself up to be at odds with God. And then he makes this brilliant insight that it took us a long, long time to catch up with. He says this, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts". He kind of equates the and our mind. "For out of the heart come evil thoughts", and our thoughts are what instigate, our thoughts are where all of these behaviors come from. Everything you've ever done, began, for the most part with a thought. It began with your mind or it began with your heart. He uses these words interchangeably. "For out of the heart come evil thoughts and those thoughts are what bring about murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander", and then in another gospel, he adds other words. He says, all of these things that you at odds with people, that puts you at odds with God, all of this comes from your heart. Our words and our deeds, actually reflect, he says, what is in us and we don't like this because I wanna think that the thing I said that I didn't mean to say is an exception and doesn't reflect poorly on me. It's just, it was an accident so I say, "Well, I didn't mean to say that", right? And I didn't mean to do that. And, you know, I'm not sure where that came from. Jesus says, "I know. I'm sure". And if what Jesus says is true, and I just think anybody that predicts their own death and resurrection and pulls it off, I just go with whatever they say so I think that what he says is true. And what says is true is that these things come from your heart. They come from my heart. And so we dare not, we dare not allow these destructive forces that reside within us to come out of us and undermine our own success, undermine our marriages, our relationships, our futures, our dating and you know, whatever it might be. That we can't just go along in life as we said the last two weeks simply monitoring our behavior. Jesus calls us to do something far more significant and something that all of us need to learn to do and if you're a parent, especially if you're a father, you gotta teach your children to do this and that is to monitor your heart, to monitor what's going on on the inside because what's going on in the inside is eventually gonna come out on the outside. And if all we do is try to put a filter over our mouth, from time to time, as you know, we're gonna fail. Then we're gonna be like, Oh, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to say that. And we treat our words as if, you know, an accidental, saying something accidental, and then taking it back or proving its an accident removes the hurt but that's just not true, right? If I accidentally back into you with my car, right? And I get, and I say, hey, it was an accident. You don't jump and go, oh, well if it's an accident, I'm fine. No, it hurts just as much. Same with our words and those words, he says, You can fool yourself all day long. The reason you said them is because they were already in there. So we need to go after this stuff and rid out hearts and cleanse our hearts. And that's what this series is all about. So last week we talked about guilt, how to say, guilt, hey guilt, you're not the boss of me. Shame, you're not the boss of me. And today, we're gonna talk about this ugly word. Envy. Envy. To me, this is just me, I think this is the ugliest thing in human nature. I know it is the ugliest thing in me. There is no bright side, upside, positive side to this word. And we can put the word jealousy. I like envy 'cause it sounds, I don't know, a little bit more sinister. Envy is that thing, and I'll just, you know, if confessions good for the soul, I'm about to do my soul a big favor, 'cause there's a lot of you to confess to. The thing that I don't like about me the most and if you can't relate to this, please don't judge me too harshly, the thing I don't like about me the most is that every once in a while, someone will fail and my initial emotion is like, yes. And I hate that about me. Now eventually get over it and like, Andy that's terrible, but I hate that every once in a while, somebody goes down or somebody makes a mistake or trips up. I don't know if it's public figure or private or whatever. Have you, has any, don't raise your hand. Have you ever had this experience where you are? Okay, it's not just me. Even folks on the front row, right? At home, you know? Somebody and that your initial emotion, the first thing that pops up is, yes. Like, that'll show them. Or somehow that made me feel better about me 'cause, and then you immediately, if you're, you know, if you're sane, you're like, oh, that's horrible. I just think for me, that is the ugliest, ugliest, ugliest part of me. And imagine if that became the boss of you. Imagine if that is the boss of you. That's an ugly thing. That will ruin what is most valuable and most important to you. And I think it resides in all of us. King Solomon, considered the wisest man who ever lived next to Jesus, said this, he just goes right at it. He says, "Envy rots the bones". Envy rots the bones. In other words, when we are envious, we're focused on someone out there and what they've done and what they have and who they raised and how smart their grandkids are and how cool their car is and Solomon says, don't kid yourself. The consequences of envy, they may be a little bit out there but at the end of the day envy rots the bones and here's why. It leaves us competing. This is the joke. This is how ridiculous this is. It leaves us competing with people that don't even know there's a competition and we're striving so hard to drive cooler, live cooler, you know, be smarter, do better, perform better, you know. I mean, we're competing with people. They don't even know there's a competition and it makes us arrogant because we're successful and we accomplished more than they did or it makes us depressed and we despise ourself because we fall short. I mean, again, there's no upside. There's no positive side to envy. It rots the bones. It ruins relationships. It'll make you a not very good friend, a not very good sister-in-law or bother-in-law, or cousin, or child or bother or sister or whatever it might be and so if you have to leave early or you lose electricity here's the bottom line. So jut knock it off, all right? Just stop with that. If only it was that easy, right? But this isn't gonna go away. I mean, it suddenly we feel it. We don't mean to feel it. We don't know where it comes from. Jesus says, I'm telling you where it came from. It came from within you. It is in you. You just dare not allow it to be the boss of you. So even if it never goes away, it doesn't have to control us. It doesn't have to drive us. We can began to monitor heart and deal with it. Because this is just my opinion. I don't think envy is a problem to be solved. I think it's a tension to manage because we're human and we're fallen and it's just natural to compare and it's natural to, you know, allow our self-esteem to be built upon what other people are doing as opposed to what God has perhaps called us to do. So, the great news is, Solomon, who gives us the envy rots the bones statement, Solomon also gives us a way forward. In fact, in his writings, he gives us a place to go. This is how I think about it. He gives us a place to go mentally so that when you find yourself drifting emotionally toward envy or you find yourself drifting emotionally toward comparison or jealousy, whatever word you wanna use. When you find yourself drifting there emotionally or suddenly that ugly, ugly part of you crops up and starts to, I mean, he says, let me tell you somewhere you can go mentally and when you start to lean that way emotionally, and he gives you a word picture to help us regain our balance because one of the things that's important to remember throughout this series is that all of these emotions, the reason they get in control is they throw us off balance. Anger throws you off balance. That's why you come back and you're like, I can't believe I said that, did that. Envy, it throws you off balance. Suddenly you're acting on things or saying snarky things and you're like, where did that come from? I'm off balance. Lust throws you off balance. All of these emotions throw us off balance. So Solomon gives us kind of a, a word picture and it gives us a phrase we're gonna get to in a minute and I'm hoping that as a result of our time together, that you would take this phrase, that you would take this imagery that he gives us and this would become so instilled in your thinking that when you begin to have those feelings, when you're tempted to say that thing, when everybody else is going on and on about them and you're tempted to join in, that you would find yourself saying, "No, no, no, no, envy. Uh-uh. I caught you. You are not the boss of me and you are not the boss of my mouth". Here's what Solomon writes. He said, "I saw that all toil", that is all work and labor, "and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another". So this is King Solomon. He's got all this perspective, all this wealth, go anywhere, do anything. He's been there, done that, seen it all. He says, here's my observation. For the most part, and this is a little bit of hyperbole, but, for the most part, he says, as I've observed people, everybody is competing with everybody else. And everybody is determining how successful they are by measuring themselves and their success by everybody else's success. This is going on 3,000 years ago. It's just human nature. They're determining where they are based on where everybody else is. Sound familiar? They're determining where they are, based on where everybody else is. And then he says, this is ridiculous, but he uses a different word. He says, this is meaningless. This is meaningless. And then, he gives us this word picture. These are, these next few words are the words that I hope you'll just grab ahold of and that this will become part of your internal vocabulary so that when you start having those internal, you know, imaginary conversations with people. Do you ever do this? Where you're having an imaginary conversation with people? Yeah. And how you always say the right thing in your imagination, right? And they always look stupid? Is that just me? Sometimes I have imaginary conversations with people and there's a crowd, you know? And they're like, Andy, yes! You know, then I just drop the mic and walk off like Jesus and the Pharisees, you know? But we always sound good. So this is, this is a phrase that I think we should all incorporate into our, our repertoire so when we start having these imaginary conversations, this is where we go. Here's what he says, he says, "I saw all this toil, all this achievement spring from one person's envy or another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind". Let's just say this together. A chasing after the wind. Everybody, one more time. A chasing after the wind. Now, I want you to think of that. That is powerful imagery. Chasing the wind. It's endless. There's no finish line. There's no peace. There's no ultimate satisfaction. There's no contentment. It's like an unquenchable appetite. Chasing after the wind. There's always an -er. We've talked about this. There's always an -er because his is newer and hers is nicer, and her kids are smarter and theirs is bigger and his is faster. There's always an -er. There's always somebody with a bigger -er, right? And so if you're chasing the wind, if envy becomes the boss of you, you're just chasing the wind. It never, never, never ends. There's never any satisfaction. There's never contentment as we're gonna see. You can't even enjoy your own accomplishments. Dissatisfaction guaranteed if you chase the wind, if you allow envy to become the boss of you in any area or as we're gonna see, even in a single relationship. It steals the joy from our accomplishments because there's always someone who's accomplishing more, right? And so when you catch yourself looking in that direction, when you catch yourself drifting in that direction, when your emotions begin to go in that direction, that's when you have to step back and say, "No, no, no, envy. Envy. Listen to me. You are not the boss of me. That is simply chasing the wind and I don't chase the wind". That is just chasing the wind and I don't chase the wind. Envy, you're not the boss of me. No, I'm not even going there. Uh-uh, envy, I'm not going there. That' just chasing the wind. I don't chase the wind. That's sideways energy. It a waste of my time. I'm not gonna waste my time which is my life chasing the wind. Your time is your life. But on the other hand, Solomon was a very accomplished person. I mean, he was a King. He accomplished more in his lifetime than anybody else ever accomplished in his lifetime. So this isn't, he's not trying to bait us into being lazy or to do less or to accomplish less. He says, "No, only a fool would fold their hands and ruin themselves". This is his imagery of somebody who's like, Well, I'm not even gonna try. Well if I can't be making 100%, I don't care what percent. I'm not even gonna try. If I, if I can't compete at all, why, you know, if I can't win, why compete at all? I'm just not even gonna try. It's like, no, no. That's not the answer either. This isn't about being passive. This isn't about doing your best. This isn't about trying to accomplish something in the world. This is not about being un or non-productive. And then, he's so wise, he brings these two ideas together. On one hand, you don't just give up and do nothing. On the other hand, you don't stress yourself out trying to be someone you're not. Then he gives us, again, more imagery that's so powerful. He says, "Better". And for some of us, this is good news. For others of us, this is gonna be a struggle because of the way you're wired, because of your temperament, because of your personality. He says, "Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind". It's better to have one handful of what you were designed to do and what you were created for then to have two handfuls when one of those handfuls is causing you, is just stressing you out because you're trying to keep up with someone you'll never keep up with. He says, at the end of the day, tranquility, even if you have less, is better than having more and losing your peace and losing your tranquility and losing your sense of self and losing yourself. Tranquility, what is tranquility? It's a word we don't use a lot. It's just satisfaction. It's contentment. It's going home in the afternoon and going, I did my very best and that's, I'm fine with that. It's laying in bed at night knowing, I have peace because I'm not stressed out trying to be somebody I can't be and trying to accomplish things that maybe I wasn't called or designed to accomplish. But chasing, chasing leaves us wanting more. Again, it's an appetite that can't be satisfied. It's chasing the wind. His point is simply this, that less, less is actually more, that less is actually more when it leads to contentment because the result is peace. The result is peace with yourself and ultimately, it's brings greater peace with the people around you, especially the people that are most important to you. Better one hand full with tranquility than grasping and striving and pretending and editing and cropping and retaking, no, that's not it, retaking, no, that's not it, retaking, no, that's not it. This is why some of you have gone off of social media, isn't it? It was just driving your crazy. You just found yourself thinking about it all the time. I'm a loser, I'm a loser, I'm a loser, I'm a loser, I'm a loser. No, I'm a loser, I'm a loser, I'm a loser, I'm a loser. Oh, my husband's a loser. My wife, loser, my kids, oh my kids. You just, and you're like, you know, I just can't deal with it anymore and some of you, you know, have been wise enough to decide, you know, I'm just gonna take a vacation. So here's my suggestion when it comes to that. Now, I've been saying this a long time. Anything, anything that stirs up discontentment in you, just remove it out of your life. Now, I'm not talking about being inspired to do great things and be your best. That's different. But the thing that just leaves you feeling less than, discontent it may be something your subscribe to, maybe a magazine. It may be a website. It may be some social media. But anything that stirs up envy in you, anything that stirs up discontentment in you, anything that stirs up jealousy in you, just remove it because it's feeding that thing that resides in you and resides in me that will be the boss of me, if I allow it to be. Just get rid of it. Cancel that. Quit looking. Quit taking. Quit watching. Quit scrolling. Whatever that might be. Now, Solomon's not done because he's got so much to say on this subject and now he takes us a little bit different direction and he says this, he says, Let me tell you something else I've seen. "Again I saw something meaningless", or we would say just ridiculous, "I saw something else meaningless under the sun". Under the sun was his way of saying in this world. There was this guy and he was all alone. "He didn't have a son and he didn't have a brother". Now, in this context when you read a phrase like this, here's what it meant. He didn't have anyone to leave his stuff to because women could not inherit in this culture. So here's this guy and he has no son and he has no brother. He has no one to leave his stuff to and Solomon says, but I watched this guy and there was no end to his toil. I mean, he just would not let up, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. He was just going after it and after it and working and working and working and accumulating and doing more and more and more and just, just, you know, just killing it but just going for it, just had so much focus on what he was doing. And then Solomon says, this guy finally stopped and asked a question, a really important question. If you're an ambitious person like me, if you love progress like me, if you love accomplishment like me, here's a question you need to ask. Here's a question I need to ask. Here's a question we probably need to ask from time to time. He said, I saw this guy who has, he doesn't have anybody to leave this stuff to and he finally pauses and he asks this question, "For whom am I toiling"? In other words, who am I doing this for really? Well, why am I doing this? What's, this is it. What's really driving me? What am I trying to prove? And here's the tough part, who am I trying to prove it to? Or if you don't like prepositions at the ends of sentences, to whom am I trying to prove it, right? So here, let me ask you, this is something to think about. This is a question to wrestle to the ground. Why are you, why do you stress yourself out to do everything that you do? Really. And now, again, the fathers, it's like, doing it for my family. Really? So your family's pushing you. You get up in the morning and your family's at the door going, come on, Dad. Get out there and come on, Dad. You can do this. You're doing this for your family. Maybe you are. But maybe there's a deeper answer to that question. Come on, men. Maybe there's more going on. Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this really? For whom are you doing this? Are you internally competing with someone and your competition with the person out there that doesn't even know you're competing with them or the industry out there, they don't even know you exist much less you're competing with them. And in your competition, you're actually alienating the people you say you're doing this for. It happens all the time, doesn't it? This is a great question. For whom am I competing? For whom am I toiling? For some of you, there's a name. For some of you, there's a face. For some of you, it's your father. For some of you, it's your mother. For some of you, this happens all the time, I'm not trying to, you know, stir up any emotion. For some of you, it's for a deceased parent. You're still trying to prove yourself to someone who's not even around to see. This is an important question because until we have an answer to this question, we may in, be internally striving, envying, we are desiring or we are jealous for their approval. We are jealous, we're jealous for that pat on the head. We're jealous for something we can't even get and we have given up our one handful of tranquility because we have opted for two handfuls of striving and chasing after the wind. Phew. He says this, going, talking about this imaginary person. He says, "And why am I depriving myself of enjoyment". Do you ever ask yourself this question? Do you ever come to the realization, oh my goodness. I'm not even enjoying what I have. I don't pause long enough to stop and, you know, just to use that old phrase, smell the roses. I mean, I love my kids. I just don't spend any time with them. I love my wife. I don't spend much time with her. I love my husband but I'm just, I just gotta go, go, go, go, go. I don't even, he says, I don't even enjoy what I'm doing. See, this is the death spiral, isn't it? This is the relational and family death spiral and sometimes we don't understand what's driving it, is something on the inside of us and for some of us, it's envy. And for some of us, it's jealousy. For some of us, it's comparison or just the quest. We're jealous for the approval of somebody or a group of somebodies, in most cases they don't even know we're competing with them. He couldn't enjoy what he had and he didn't know why. Solomon says, "This is ridiculous, isn't it"? I mean, hearing me say it, this is just ridiculous. "This to", he says, "is meaningless". I love this phrase. "It is a miserable business". Isn't that great? In other words, it will make you miserable. You'll put a check in every box. You'll accomplish everything on your to-do list. You'll get the award. You'll graduate at the top of your class and you'll go home and you will be miserable because something's driving you and you never put your finger on it. Now, if you're not a Christian or a religious person, let me just say this to you, okay? You'll never be. You'll never be what you were created or designed or what you have the potential to be. You will never be what you were designed or created or have the potential to be as long as you're looking over your shoulder at what everybody else is becoming. Now, if you're a Christian, this is even more serious because you'll never, you'll never experience, you'll never experience God's purpose for your life if you're distracted by God's purpose for someone else. Now, this is a big deal. This is a really big deal to me. I grew up with a very successful father and I don't know any other way to say this. I followed him in the family business, so to speak, okay? I mean, my dad is a pastor. There was a time, you know, when I was thinking about ministry and looking at what he was doing. You're gonna think I'm exaggerating. This is, once upon a time, there was no internet. Does anyone remember this? Okay, yes. It was a terrible time, right? This didn't mean anything. In fact, half of the words we use didn't mean anything before the internet, right? In fact, they meant there things. This is kinda funny to think about. So, before there was an internet, my dad, I mean, this would be amazing now. My dad was on television, short wave radio or radio, preaching in every country of the world every day of the week. He was preaching in every country of the world, every day of the week by television, radio or short wave radio because radio stations would blast his preaching across national boundaries. I'm sure this is somehow illegal and people with short wave radios could listen to him preach when it was illegal to preach in some of those countries. And then I come along, I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna go and be in the ministry. Well, what are you gonna do? I think he did it all. I think it's pretty much all done. I mean, if you're dad's preaching in every country of the world every day of the week then what is there left to do? And I just remember struggling. I felt like this is something I wanna do but to fall into the comparison trap, and he was so great. He never put that on me. He never, ever put that on me. I put it on myself and I found myself, like some of us find ourselves, kinda competing with someone who doesn't know there's a competition. Competing with people who would be shocked and feel like, wait, wait. Why do you feel like you're competing. But to find the race that God has called you to run and to find the lane that you're to run in and to quit looking over your shoulder and looking at all the other lanes to see what other people are doing, it is so extraordinarily liberating. And do you know what it does? It allows you to work harder with more peace. You work harder, you get more accomplished with more contentment and you begin to measure success differently. Now, I'm still trying to figure this out because this is a tension to manage. So every day, in some capacity, I find myself saying under my breath, "Envy, mm-mm, you're not the boss of me". I'm not going there. I'm not chasing the wind. So here's the phrase that Solomon began all this with. I just gave you the second half. Here's the entire sentence. Here's what he says. This is so powerful. "A heart at peace gives life to the body but envy rots the bones". A heart at peace, that is, this is this internal thing. Finding peace, finding contentment, finding that sense of, I've done all I know to do. I've done my very best. I will be content with one handful and tranquility. He says, "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but it's envy that rots the bones". In other words, you cannot compete. You cannot compete or compare your way to peace. You cannot compete or compare your way to peace. You cannot win by chasing the wind. Now, here's the thing if you're a Christian. God has given you a race to run, as a parent, as a professional, as a student, as a mentor, as an athlete, as a coach, as the teacher, as whatever it might be. God has given you a race to run. He's given you a lane to run in. So stay there and thrive there. And here's the most important part. And change somebody's world from there because the moment you get out of your lane, and the moment I allow envy and comparison and jealousy to be the boss of me, do you know what I quit doing? I quit being concerned about other people because envy is extraordinarily self-centered. Jealously is extraordinarily self-centered. I'm gonna have a difficult time caring about you if I'm overly worried and concerned about me. That's why that ugly, ugly, ugly, embarrassing thing that pops up every once in a while when somebody else fails, where does that come from? That comes from this false sense that the lower you go the higher I get. The less you succeed the more I succeed. What a lie that is. But that's what envy does. That's what jealousy does. Jealousy says if someone else will tear you down, I can feel better about myself. How extraordinarily self-centered is that. And you have been called to live a better life and your better life is found in the lane that God has called you to run in and from that lane, you can do more for other people because you will be less concerned about who and where you are compared to other people. Sure, there's a time to look to other people. You look at other people for inspiration, not imitation. Read biographies. Be inspired by their stories. Don't be afraid of their success. Envious and people who are eaten up with envy, they don't even like to hear about other people's success. They have a hard time celebrating with other people. Use other people's stories as inspiration not imitation. Celebrate, even in areas where you can't participate. Jordan Peterson says this. I love this statement from his book. He says this, "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who somebody else is today", from "12 Rules of Life". Isn't that good? If you're gonna do the comparison thing, compare yourself to yourself. Compare yourself to where you were yesterday. In other words, making progress. Again, this isn't about sitting on your hands and doing nothing. This is about, to use the phrase, being all you can possibly be and being that God has called you to be. But you compare yourself to where you were yesterday. Love progress. Pursue progress. But don't compare yourself to where somebody else is today or to use some old school language, count your blessings, not your neighbor's. Yeah, right? Count your blessings. Have you ever actually done this? I mean, this may seem so strange, to sit down and to make an actual list of all the things in your life that are a blessing. Do you know what happens when you begin to count your blessings? Something happens on the inside of you. You become grateful. Grateful people are generous people because grateful, generous people are not self-centered people. So just count your blessings. Don't worry about everybody else's blessings. God has called you to do something specific and you don't wanna miss it. Don't miss the life that God has for you. You'll never experience. You'll never experience life to the full as long as you are trying to get in on the lane of somebody else around you. You'll never experience your life to the full until you focus on the life that's right in front of you. So, this afternoon, maybe before you leave here, maybe before you turn, you know, as soon as you go to the next browser, you know, just today, when you find your mind and you find your emotions drifting towards that sense of envy and comparison, and I don't measure up and I'll never have and I'll never drive and I'll never live and I'll never look like that. When tempted to compare, when tempted to compare, then you just really need to stop and declare, and maybe out loud, maybe under your breath, "Envy, you're not the boss of me". Envy, you're not the boss of me. I will not chase the wind. Envy, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Envy, you're not the boss of me. In fact, envy, let me show you what I'm gonna do. I'm actually gonna write her a letter and congratulate her on the very thing that makes me hate her, okay? Because you are not the boss of me. I'm not gonna hate her. Watch this, I'm gonna write a letter and I'm going to hand her and congratulate her because, envy, you are not the boss of me. You know what? When he gets home, I'm gonna celebrate him, even though he gets all the attention and I do all the work. Even though she gets all the attention and I do all the work. Whichever way that goes. You know what, envy? I'm not gonna be jealous. I'm not gonna allow jealousy to be the boss of me. I'm going to congratulate him and congratulate her. I'm going to cheer them on until you finally shut your mouth. You are not the boss of me. So let's just say this together out loud. Ready? Ready? Everybody, even if you're watching online. Envy, you are not the boss of me. I will not chase the wind. Now, this time with a little more attitude, okay? 'Cause you gotta tell envy, now, real quick. This is not spooky. We're not talking to people or demons or spirits, okay? This is just an exercise to help us get perspective in those moments when our emotions wanna take control. So one more time with a little bit more attitude. Ready? Envy, you are not the boss of me. I will not chase the wind. Besides, if you're a Christian, you already have a boss of you and Jesus have you some very specific instructions. I'm gonna read you the implication and then the instructions. The implication is this, now this is such a big deal if you're a Jesus follower. Ready? Don't compare yourself to one another. Love one another. And you can't do both very well. Don't compare yourself to one another. I've called you to something so much higher and greater. You are to love one another and envy always gets in the way of love. So this is not a nice to-do. This is mission critical. Jesus said it. I mean this is an amazing statement that I, it should just cause us to wonder every time we hear it. He said, by this, this is how people are gonna know that you're my follower. If you love, if you celebrate, if you cheer on, if you refuse to give in to, if you love one another, that's where peace and that's where purpose is found. It's living out and staying in your lane, head down to the thing that God has called you to do. Celebrate what everybody else is doing and leverage who you are and the opportunities that come your way in order to serve and celebrate other people. That's where the peace is found. And ultimately, that's where purpose is found as well. So last question and we're done. Is it possible, this is so hard to admit. This is so hard to see in the mirror. Maybe it's impossible to see in the mirror. Is it possible that in some area of your life, envy has become the boss of you? Let me be specific. Is it possible in one relationship that envy has become the boss of you? It's your sister-in-law. It's your bother-in-law. It's your older brother. It's your older sister. My older sister's so smart she doesn't even have to try. I try and I try and I try and she just gets up and it just all works out. Maybe it's just one relationship, in one relationship, in a relationship has envy become the boss of you? What can you do about that? Maybe it's one environment. It's just school. It's on that team. It's at work. Hopefully it's not at home. Is there an environment where envy has become the boss of you? You gotta deal with this. Or you'll end up chasing the wind. If you chase the wind, that's meaningless. If you do what's meaningless for too long, your life becomes meaningless. If you do what's meaningless for too long, your life becomes meaningless. If you chase the wind for too long, if you do what's meaningless for too long, your entire life becomes meaningless. Because as I've told you before, the way you find meaning is by becoming a means to an end that's not you and envy will draw you in and suck you in to self-centeredness that drains your life of meaning. You don't want that. You don't wanna model that. The world doesn't need any more of that. So, let's follow Jesus. Unlike envy, he will make your life better and unlike envy, he will make you better at life.

Fear, guilt, and shame are silent killers And so, this article will examine doubt and see how slyly it sneaks in to spy out our joy and hope in Christ. Many of us understand doubt. If we’re honest with ourselves, we will even grant that doubt is part of living. Indeed, our doubts are actually pretty wide and diverse. Take, for example, the political landscape and sports. I’ll start with sports. As an Aggie, I have gotten used to letdowns each fall. I begin with high hopes, looking to another great year of recruiting, but, as it turns out, the Aggies can’t seem to pull out the National Championship. And so, while I have high hopes, I doubt they will “actually” win. What about politics? Is it possible to doubt that your political party might win? Even if they win, do you find yourself doubting that it will actually bring about the kind of real change needed to solve society’s ills? Let’s move this topic to a more personal level. What about the Easter bunny? Santa Claus? Tooth Fairy? All three of these figures don’t exist, but for many children, they do; well, until they don’t. Not making any judgment on those who brought them to life in their children’s lives but imagine that moment when the child realizes Dad was Santa, Mom was the tooth fairy, and well, the Easter Bunny just got in the way. I digress. What happens is, kids face disillusionment, and a seed of doubt is sown, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Doubt is part of life. We experience it every day. As we briefly examined above, doubt is personal, political, relational, and much more. And so, on the one hand, doubt is not inherently wrong. Doubting the success of a football game has no real consequences on my eternal destiny, and may actually help me enjoy the game more. However, doubt becomes a problem when applied to our spiritual life. Take, for instance, anxiety. If we were to trace the source of anxiety, we would pass the reality of facing an undesirable outcome and arrive at the object we are hoping meets our needs. It is here, by examining the object, that we understand if this thing was designed to make us happy or pleased. Thus, to put it the opposite way, the object of our faith ought to regulate and alleviate our doubt. So, what are we to make of doubt? Let’s look at it from a biblical, theological, and practical standpoint. Biblical. Doubt begins in the Garden of Eden, leading to the first sin and, subsequently, sinful humanity. Doubt continued as Abraham and Sarah, doubting God’s promise, used Hagar to conceive a child (Gen. 16:1-4). Moses doubted his usefulness and sought a way out from going to Pharaoh and liberating God’s people (Exodus 3:11). Gideon doubted God’s presence with His people (Judges 6:13), and Elijah doubted God’s power to save him after seeing it on magnificent display (1 Kings 19:4). Doubt continues into the New Testament as Peter, sinking into the water, hears Christ say, “...you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). Later, Thomas, aka Doubting Thomas, doubted Christ’s resurrection until he saw in “His hands the mark of the nails” (John 20:25). There is a tension, isn’t there, when it comes to doubting and having faith? We see this explicitly in the desperate cry of a father seeking his son’s healing: “...I believe help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). The agony of this experience was well captured by Arthur Pink, who wrote a little pamphlet on it titled The Believer’s Paradox. Pink essentially argues that, for the Christian, doubt is an indication of belief. He contends, “No unbeliever ever shed tears over his unbelief; no empty professor ever groaned because of his questioning of God; no hypocrite is burdened by his doubts and fears.”* In other words, to doubt is to have a measure of faith. And, for the Christian, we believe that faith is not from within a person, being generated, manufactured, divined, purchased, or conjured, but is instead a gift of God so that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Thus, if faith is a gift, doubting while seeking to believe is part of the process for a fallen person in a broken world. Doubt rightly guided points us to deeper faith. Theological. To say that guided doubt leads us to deeper faith is to say that our faith or trust is anchored in an immovable, eternal, infinite, and personal God. Only the Trinity, taught in the Christian faith, can meet these qualities and infinitely more. Indeed, it is the Trinity that is the object of faith and the source of faith. It follows that when I doubt, I have taken my eyes off the Triune God and placed them squarely on something or someone not designed to sustain my trust—thus, doubt. Yet doubt exposes my lack of faith and, for the Christian, draws them deeper into God. The journey of the Christian, then, is a journey of seeking to know even as we are known and grow in faith. Therefore, faith is the means through which God transacts His will, not the source. The Triune God is the objective source, and faith is the conduit through which God’s grace flows to the Christian. Thus, it is not the “amount” of faith that I possess but whether or not it is real or genuine. The Trinity is the Source and Sustainer of genuine faith. Practical. We doubt, just as the father in Mark 9 does. We doubt, just like Peter, beginning to sink into the sea after taking his eyes off Christ. We all doubt. Yet, rightly directed doubt moves us deeper into God. Anxiety, thus, has an answer. We draw near to God with real faith as the conduit through which God executes His will. At the same time, there may be times or seasons when doubt seems to stay around and visit us far too long. In those seasons, it is important to know you are not alone, to remind yourself of the Object and character of your faith, and to surround yourself with other Christians and counsel that will encourage and fill your heart with truth and love. Doubt as an experiential reality causes us to face our days with an open hand. We leave outcomes in God’s hands. We prepare, plan, and work with excellence, yet remind ourselves daily that our trust is in God, not in circumstances or outcomes. Our faith is rooted in a Person who loved us and gave Himself up for us. Replace doubt with trust. God help us, Amen!