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Aligning Your Heart with God's Word
This podcast episode underscores the paramount necessity for spiritual alignment in our lives, particularly through the lens of biblical teachings found in Proverbs chapter 4. We delve into the significance of listening to the Word of God, which serves as a foundational discipline for maintaining spiritual health. The discourse further elucidates the importance of protecting one's heart from negativity and pernicious influences, thereby preserving the integrity of one's passions and decision-making. We also explore the vital act of removing perverse elements from our lives that may lead us astray, and we emphasize the necessity of forward-looking perspectives in our spiritual journey. By adhering to these disciplines, we affirm our commitment to live in accordance with divine principles and foster a deeper relationship with God.
Takeaways:
- The essence of spiritual alignment lies in listening attentively to the Word of God, which serves as a guiding principle for our lives.
- To foster a healthy spiritual life, one must protect their heart diligently, as it is the source of all life decisions and actions.
- Removing perverse influences from our lives is essential to maintaining a positive and spiritually aligned mindset in our daily endeavors.
- Looking forward with purpose and intention is crucial; we must ponder our paths and ensure our actions align with God's Word.
- Daily engagement with scripture is imperative; it not only enriches our understanding but also fortifies our spiritual foundations against life's challenges.
- A community that shares in spiritual disciplines and encourages one another fosters growth and accountability in one's faith journey.
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This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of Financially Confident Christian, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.financiallyconfidentchristian.com
Transcript
Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
Speaker A:My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.
Speaker A:I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.
Speaker A:Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.
Speaker B:Hey, if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open up to Proverbs chapter 4.
Speaker B:We're going to start there this morning, but I want to give a little bit of a recap about what took place this summer.
Speaker B:Some of you had, were able to be out there with us.
Speaker B:If you were with us this summer for that week long work week.
Speaker B:Would you just put your hand up real quickly just so I, I know Dan was there.
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker B:I know there's a couple others that they might not be here this morning.
Speaker B:But I tell you what, I learned very quickly from watching other people, how much I plan ahead of time, that I over task people and that week became over task for those that came.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:You probably were like, I cannot wait to go back to Delaware.
Speaker B:This Pastor Brad's crazy.
Speaker B:He doesn't, doesn't realize what he's doing.
Speaker B:And those, all those things are true.
Speaker B:And you were such a blessing.
Speaker B:I, I did not take pictures and, and I, I didn't put those up yet.
Speaker B:But I would love for you to come and see what took place this summer.
Speaker B:Some of the things that changed.
Speaker B:We're only an hour away.
Speaker B:We're not really that far.
Speaker B:You guys can come for any time that you want to.
Speaker B:In fact, I'm just going to put this out there.
Speaker B:I'm not sure Pastor Josh is probably.
Speaker C:Going to see this and you're going.
Speaker B:To say, I don't know why you said that.
Speaker B:Next Sunday night we have our chill or.
Speaker B:No, not chili.
Speaker B:What are we doing?
Speaker B:We're doing our friendsgiving.
Speaker B:Next Sunday night we're doing our friendsgiving.
Speaker B:Pastor Josh is one of my close friends.
Speaker C:He's coming out.
Speaker C:He's going to speak for us for our friendsgiving.
Speaker C:Would love for you to come too.
Speaker B:You don't have to.
Speaker C:I don't think he's driving the van.
Speaker B:Or anything like that, but I will give you the address.
Speaker C:We'd love for you to be with us.
Speaker B:You're part of our family.
Speaker B:And we have a beautiful now kind of a renewed lobby and we have been using that and people are gathering in that area.
Speaker C:That is amazing.
Speaker B:It's incredible.
Speaker B:We went from having probably A like a, almost a 60 square foot square right next to the bathrooms.
Speaker C:Now we have about 300 plus square.
Speaker B:Feet available for our lobby.
Speaker B:And, and the painting is beautiful.
Speaker B:We had Brother Dan, I think all the way up on the top of like a 16 foot ladder.
Speaker B:He was cutting in edges and Alicia and Pastor Josh were up there doing.
Speaker C:That and just beautiful work has been done.
Speaker C:And so we'd love for you to come out and see some of it.
Speaker B:Thank you for being a part of it.
Speaker C:And some of you I also know contributed financially for that and that was such a huge blessing to us.
Speaker C:Thank you for being a part of.
Speaker B:What God's doing over there in Millville, New Jersey.
Speaker B:Really we are kind of in that bottom area that's easily forgotten and but there's a much that needs to be done there and we're thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it and we're thankful that we get to be a part of your family as well here in Middletown.
Speaker B:Pastor Josh and Alicia are some of my best friends.
Speaker B:I don't say that lightly.
Speaker C:Pastor Josh and I have got to.
Speaker B:Spend quite a bit of time together.
Speaker B:We took a trip this last week, last week, last year, down into Florida.
Speaker C:Together and I got to meet some.
Speaker B:Of his family and just gotten to enjoy growing with him.
Speaker C:And so you have an incredible pastor.
Speaker B:You have an incredible man of God.
Speaker C:Who loves the word of God, who.
Speaker B:Loves his family, who loves serving Jesus.
Speaker C:Christ with all of his life.
Speaker B:So I thank you for sharing him with, with me.
Speaker B:So let's take a few minutes.
Speaker C:Let's go ahead.
Speaker B:I know we prayed a couple times, but why don't we do this?
Speaker B:You guys there in Proverbs chapter 4.
Speaker B:Good.
Speaker C:Why don't we pray and ask the Lord to guide our hearts as we jump into our study this morning.
Speaker B:Heavenly Father, I thank you for the.
Speaker C:Songs that we sang this morning.
Speaker C:I thank you for the men and.
Speaker B:Thinking about the men and the women.
Speaker C:Who have sacrificed so much.
Speaker B:Maybe when they first got into the military they didn't think that it was.
Speaker C:Going to be much of a sacrifice, but it's going to be a job.
Speaker B:But Lord, it's taught them so much more and it's given us so much.
Speaker C:More freedom as well as others.
Speaker B:Lord, I thank you for their story, their life, their.
Speaker C:Their desire to be more than what they were.
Speaker B:And Father, I thank you for protecting.
Speaker C:Them through, through the battles to which they have faced.
Speaker B:Lord, I thank you for the opportunity.
Speaker C:That we have to be able to.
Speaker B:Together jump into a passage of scripture.
Speaker B:That sometimes for me is just something.
Speaker C:That I breeze over.
Speaker C:Something that we can learn some deep principles in a quick and powerful way.
Speaker B:So that we can be.
Speaker C:Faithful followers of Jesus Christ.
Speaker C:We don't want to just come to church on a Sunday to check things off.
Speaker C:We don't want to just say we've done church, so now we can do something different.
Speaker C:Lord, we want to grow in our relationship with you because you have given everything for us to have relationship.
Speaker C:So, Father, we ask that you would.
Speaker B:Bless Pastor Josh and the family today.
Speaker C:We ask that you would protect them as they are away from their family here, Lord, that you would encourage them and give them some refreshment in their.
Speaker B:Life that I know that they need.
Speaker B:Father, I ask that you would allow.
Speaker C:My church backing New Jersey this morning to be encouraged as well.
Speaker C:And Lord, that we would, as one unified body, worship you as you, for you are worthy of it all.
Speaker C:In your precious son's name, Jesus Christ.
Speaker C:Amen.
Speaker B:All right, so you're there in Proverbs, chapter 4.
Speaker B:I am as well.
Speaker B:And we're going to jump straight in here in verse number 20.
Speaker B:And obviously the book of Proverbs is written from a father to a son, but for a very specific reason, right?
Speaker B:Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, looked at his son and said, you know, and if you learn anything about Solomon's son, the very first thing he does as a king, you would probably think, did he not read what his dad said?
Speaker B:You know, did he not take time to learn some principles to which his father taught?
Speaker B:And so this morning we're going to see this and probably verses that you've read before.
Speaker B:But look here with me at verse.
Speaker C:Number 20 of chapter four.
Speaker B:My son, attend to my words, incline thine ear to my sayings.
Speaker B:Let them not depart from thine eyes.
Speaker B:Keep them in the midst of thine heart, for they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Speaker B:I mean, right from the very get go of reading these couple verses, we think, wow, this is important.
Speaker B:This is important.
Speaker B:The way that he's writing this, it means that it's important.
Speaker B:Look at verse 23.
Speaker B:Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.
Speaker B:Put away from thee a froward mouth and a perverse lips put far from thee.
Speaker B:Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Speaker B:Ponder the paths of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Speaker B:Turn not to the right hand, turn or to the left.
Speaker B:Remove thy foot from evil how many of us this morning would be willing to say that they have had an issue in their past with alignment?
Speaker B:Alignment.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:A couple people.
Speaker B:All right, so one area that we can be out of alignment would be in a vehicle.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:If your wheels are out of alignment or they're out of balance, you know, you're driving down the highway and everything is starting to shake.
Speaker B:You're like, oh, boy, I got to get my vehicle into the shop so that it can be realigned.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Or how about your body alignment?
Speaker B:You know, maybe you woke up this morning like, oh, you know, what are you talking about, Pastor Brad?
Speaker B:Like, that's every single morning.
Speaker B:Like, I'm always alignment.
Speaker B:Where's the chiropractor?
Speaker B:And Pastor Josh and I have joked with each other back and forth because, you know, maybe he'll hurt his back or something like that, or he was climbing a tree stand not too long ago, and.
Speaker B:And he.
Speaker B:He said he pulled a muscle, and I. I teased him about it.
Speaker B:And about a week later, guess what I did?
Speaker B:I hurt my back, and I was out of alignment.
Speaker B:You see, being out of alignment happens before even the pain sets in.
Speaker B:Pain is often the signal that something's not right.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You know, the.
Speaker B:The swelling, the pain, the.
Speaker B:The ice pack and whatever else that we try to do in order to try to heal from being out of alignment.
Speaker B:Let me ask you this.
Speaker C:What about spiritual alignment?
Speaker B:See, spiritual alignment happens as we walk.
Speaker C:In unity with the Holy Spirit.
Speaker B:Not emotionalism.
Speaker B:Not coming to church and say, ah, I feel so good about that service.
Speaker B:That's not spiritual alignment.
Speaker B:That's emotionalism.
Speaker B:Oh, you know what?
Speaker B:I got this problem, and I don't know really how to fix it.
Speaker B:That means you're out of alignment, and.
Speaker C:We need to fix that.
Speaker B:Now, we are here at church this morning.
Speaker B:Most of us want to have spiritual alignment in our life, but spiritual alignment is something that we do not automatically gravitate towards, but we can apply some.
Speaker C:Disciplines that can keep us from being out of alignment.
Speaker B:Now, I cannot celebrate with veterans because I'm not a veteran, but I do know a couple things that I have learned from some veterans in my life is that one of the key things that you learn is being in the military is disciplines.
Speaker B:You are disciplined.
Speaker B:If you don't learn the disciplines, you get more discipline.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And so disciplines are a natural thing of life, and they're also very helpful for us when it comes to being spiritually aligned.
Speaker B:So this morning, every one of us need to apply healthy disciplines that help keep us from being out of spiritual alignment.
Speaker C:I'm going to show you four very quickly.
Speaker B:In verses 20 through 22, we see the very first discipline.
Speaker B:Discipline number one is this.
Speaker C:Listen to the word of God.
Speaker B:Listen to the word of God.
Speaker B:He says here, to incline your ear.
Speaker B:Now, someone showed me this.
Speaker B:I was probably just a young man, and it never left me.
Speaker B:To incline your ear means that you take your hand, you make it look like a C, and you put it behind your ear and you make your ear a little bit bigger so that you can hear more stuff.
Speaker B:You guys know that, right?
Speaker C:You guys are so smart.
Speaker B:I tell you what, I'm not kidding.
Speaker B:Like, I didn't know that at one point.
Speaker B:And I'm glad that I do know that now, because sometimes as I'm talking to my kids, I say to them, hey, listen, you know what I'm trying to tell them?
Speaker B:In that moment, incline your ear.
Speaker B:I want you to hear everything that I'm saying.
Speaker B:He's saying here in this moment, that when it comes to the word of.
Speaker C:God, incline your ear.
Speaker C:Listen up.
Speaker C:Now, what's really powerful about this very thought is that there is a psalm.
Speaker B:The psalmist starts off.
Speaker B:He says, I love the Lord because.
Speaker C:Beautiful psalm.
Speaker C:You should read it sometime.
Speaker C:I believe it's Psalm 113.
Speaker B:I'm probably wrong.
Speaker C:Maybe 116.
Speaker B:It's right there in those before 119.
Speaker B:It says, I love the Lord because.
Speaker C:He inclines his ear.
Speaker B:See, when God's asking us to incline.
Speaker C:Our ear to him, to listen up to him, it's because he's already doing it for us.
Speaker C:He's already doing it for us.
Speaker B:He wants us to hear him because he hears us.
Speaker B:He knows, well, we're already out of alignment.
Speaker B:He knows our deepest need.
Speaker B:He knows what's going on in our life, spiritually, physically, emotionally.
Speaker B:Everything he knows.
Speaker B:He says, listen up.
Speaker B:I got the answer for you.
Speaker B:Incline your ear to me.
Speaker B:See, there is a listening and attempting to hear every word.
Speaker B:Or as my wife likes to put it, are you hearing me or are you listening to me?
Speaker B:Gentlemen, you know the answer.
Speaker B:There is a difference, right?
Speaker B:Then he goes on, this is interesting because we're going to see there's a difference in this part of the passage to another part of the passage.
Speaker B:The word keep.
Speaker B:Here.
Speaker B:He says to listen and to keep.
Speaker B:To keep.
Speaker B:This is to be the.
Speaker B:To the hearer is meant to be the hearer and the doer of the word.
Speaker C:Even as Pastor James says there in the book of James, to keep means.
Speaker B:That you listen and Do I wrote.
Speaker C:This down in my notes this morning.
Speaker C:I just want you to think about this for a minute.
Speaker C:We sang some songs about this.
Speaker B:The reasons to not reading and obeying.
Speaker C:The word of God that we have in our life.
Speaker C:I'm too tired this morning, Pastor Brad.
Speaker B:Or I'm going to church this Sunday morning.
Speaker C:I don't need to really spend time reading my Bible or I just don't.
Speaker B:Quite understand every word that I'm reading or I just don't know where to start reading.
Speaker B:There's a whole book by the way out there called how to read your Bible.
Speaker B:Really good book.
Speaker B:The reasons that we have to not.
Speaker C:Reading God's word are never good enough when it comes to the reason where Christ sacrificed everything for us.
Speaker B:If we put those two up together.
Speaker C:Okay, the reason I'm not reading my Bible and we put up the reasons of why he died for us.
Speaker C:They don't compare.
Speaker C:See, this is where discipline comes in.
Speaker B:Disciplines is when we begin to realize the reasons why we do certain things.
Speaker B:It's not just that we do it.
Speaker B:Make your bed, brush your teeth, do these things.
Speaker B:It's the reasons why I do these things is cause it's healthy for me.
Speaker B:The reasons why I get up and do this or the reasons why I spend time doing this is because it's good for me.
Speaker C:Hey, listen, reading your Bible is really good for you.
Speaker B:Reading and knowing our Word is really.
Speaker C:Good for us sometimes.
Speaker B:The biggest reasons that we have, the issues that we have in our life.
Speaker C:The out of alignments that we have in our life, biggest reason we have, conflict in our homes, because the word of God is not wearing.
Speaker B:So what does this mean for me?
Speaker B:Clearly, when God's word is not in our life, we will follow our own.
Speaker C:Way, which leads us to being spiritually not in a healthy place.
Speaker B:Think about just a couple passages of Scripture.
Speaker B:Psalm 119.
Speaker C:These two jump out to me.
Speaker B:How shall a young man cleanse his way by giving heed or listening to.
Speaker C:The Word of God?
Speaker B:He goes on a little bit later.
Speaker C:In that passage, he says this.
Speaker B:Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Speaker B:I don't know if you know this or not, but if you read through Psalm 119, every single one of those verses, I think it's over 160 verses there in Psalm 119.
Speaker B:You have to fact check me later.
Speaker B:Every single one of those verses has an understanding of the Word of God.
Speaker B:Every single one of them is about the importance of the Word of God.
Speaker B:That's what Psalm 119 is all about.
Speaker B:It goes through the Hebrew Alphabet of the importance of the word of God.
Speaker B:It's powerful.
Speaker C:Why?
Speaker B:Because the word of God is the.
Speaker C:Most important discipline that any person can put into their life.
Speaker B:Discipline number two.
Speaker B:Told you it's gonna be quick and sweet.
Speaker B:Look at verse 23.
Speaker B:He goes on.
Speaker B:And we need to understand the second discipline is to protect your passages.
Speaker B:Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.
Speaker B:Now this word to keep is different than the other word to keep because of the context.
Speaker B:This keep means protection.
Speaker B:The other keep meant do.
Speaker B:This keep means protection.
Speaker B:I don't know if any, any of you are Lord of the Rings fans, but you have King Theoden and the two towers, and all of a sudden they're being invaded and the, the, the, the, the place that they are being held up there is being overrun by these monstrous orcs.
Speaker B:And King Theoden yells out in a, in a champion voice, to the keep.
Speaker B:To the keep.
Speaker B:And they all run in and they, they.
Speaker B:They protect themselves behind the doors.
Speaker B:The idea here is this, is that there's an attack that's coming.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:There's an army that is overrunning us.
Speaker B:And so because of these things, these battles that we face, we need to protect our hearts.
Speaker B:We need to protect our passions.
Speaker B:He says the word heart here, which is connected back to verse 21.
Speaker B:He says, Let them not depart.
Speaker B:Talk about the word of God from thine eyes.
Speaker B:Keep them in the midst of thy heart.
Speaker B:This is the thing that we're protecting here.
Speaker B:I wrote down.
Speaker B:Your passions will be guided by what or who you listen to.
Speaker B:This is something we had to protect.
Speaker B:We've got to protect our heart.
Speaker B:Negativity in our life will always cause us to be negative.
Speaker C:Just happens.
Speaker B:Fear in our life will always cause us to be fearful.
Speaker B:Well, Pastor Brad, I'm just a positive guy.
Speaker B:I'm just a. I'm never afraid of anything.
Speaker B:I tell you, take those kinds of people and you infiltrate their heart with fear and negativity, you're going to turn out fearful and negative.
Speaker B:Throughout Proverbs, the reference to protecting our hearts and writing God's word on our hearts is repeated so many times that it is obvious that he isn't just talking about the organization in our body, but the decision maker of our life.
Speaker B:Hey, what is influencing your decision maker in your life?
Speaker B:What's influencing that?
Speaker B:Jeremiah references this place.
Speaker C:He says the heart is deceitful, desperately wicked.
Speaker C:Who can know it so well?
Speaker B:Pastor Brad, My decision Maker, it's fine.
Speaker B:I don't need to worry about it.
Speaker B:I'm good.
Speaker C:There's none good.
Speaker B:No, not one.
Speaker B:See, that decision maker that's in your life will always lead us astray when we do not have the right influence in our life.
Speaker B:Protecting the most powerful decision maker of our life.
Speaker B:See, things that are important to us, we protect.
Speaker B:If your family's important to you, guess what you're going to do.
Speaker C:You're going to protect your home.
Speaker B:If your time is important to you, guess what?
Speaker B:You're going to live by your schedule, right?
Speaker B:I'm sorry, I don't have time for this right now.
Speaker B:If your money is important to you, guess what you're going to live by.
Speaker B:Your bank account, right?
Speaker B:We protect the things that are important to us.
Speaker B:And what Solomon was saying to his son is, hey, listen, protect your heart.
Speaker B:The thing that is often misguided by your passionate living.
Speaker B:And whatever you want to do, protect.
Speaker C:That place and protect it by the word of God, put it where it is meant to be.
Speaker B:See, trusting our heart isn't the answer.
Speaker B:Making a place of protection is.
Speaker B:It means that we recognize as followers of Christ, the one thing that we allow to be affected as much as we do needs to be protected more than we do.
Speaker B:We let our hearts get affected by Hallmark movies.
Speaker B:Folks, it's almost Christmas time.
Speaker B:You know, one of the beautiful things that I love about where we live is that there's Christmas tree farms everywhere.
Speaker C:Around where we live.
Speaker B:The very first time driving to the church, I was like, it's like a Walmart movie.
Speaker B:It has not always been like a Hallmark movie.
Speaker C:Okay?
Speaker B:There's been some.
Speaker B:There's been some real difficulties.
Speaker B:But I will say this.
Speaker B:We watch a Hallmark movie.
Speaker B:I need to have.
Speaker B:I need to open my house to 10 puppies.
Speaker B:We watch a Hallmark movie or whatever.
Speaker B:Like, I need to do this.
Speaker B:Why?
Speaker B:Because where we're guided by things that we're passionate about, we get excited about.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:You can't help but walk into Cabela's and think that you're a professional hunter.
Speaker B:I don't know about you.
Speaker B:That's how I do it.
Speaker B:You know, I want.
Speaker B:All right, I'm ready.
Speaker B:You know, I'm armed to go.
Speaker B:You know why?
Speaker B:Because of the passions of our hearts.
Speaker B:Hey, do we do the same thing with the word of God?
Speaker B:See, we should discipline ourselves.
Speaker C:As Paul said it.
Speaker C:Romans, chapter 13.
Speaker C:But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust.
Speaker C:This is.
Speaker B:Protect.
Speaker C:Protect it with the armor of the.
Speaker B:Number three clear.
Speaker C:Discipline.
Speaker C:This may not.
Speaker C:This.
Speaker B:This is exciting to me.
Speaker B:I'm not going to give it to you in an exciting way until the very end.
Speaker C:Discipline number three, remove perversions.
Speaker C:Look at verse 24.
Speaker C:He says this.
Speaker B:Put away from the a forward mouth and perverse lips put far from thee.
Speaker B:Now he's not just talking about himself like you don't do this.
Speaker B:He's saying individuals that are like this, remove from your life the froward mouth.
Speaker B:This is a word that we don't typically use today, but it means proud or arrogance.
Speaker B:Perverse lips.
Speaker B:This means lies.
Speaker B:Proverbs, chapter six.
Speaker B:A couple chapters later, Solomon repeats the idea here.
Speaker B:He says, these six things does the Lord hate?
Speaker B:Ye seven are an abomination to him.
Speaker B:A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.
Speaker B:And a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.
Speaker B:Feet that be swift in running to mischief.
Speaker B:A false witness that speaketh lies.
Speaker B:And he that soweth discord among the brethren, like these are things to which God says, I don't even want around me.
Speaker B:I hate these things.
Speaker B:David.
Speaker B:So the father of Solomon had this to say about this thought.
Speaker B:He said, whosoever secretly slanders his neighbor lies about his neighbor.
Speaker B:Him will I destroy the one who has a haughty look and a proud heart.
Speaker B:Him will I not endure.
Speaker B:See, the image that it's given here is this.
Speaker B:Hey, do you have someone that's around your life who lies a lot about other people?
Speaker B:Do you get rid of them?
Speaker B:Get them out of your life.
Speaker B:Hey, do you have someone around your life who all they do is talk about themselves and talk about their greatness and their glory.
Speaker B:You do.
Speaker B:Come on, get rid of them.
Speaker B:They are not the things that bring goodness to your life.
Speaker B:They are not the things that bring goodness to the passions of your life.
Speaker B:In fact, they're going to cripple you.
Speaker B:How about this old adage, I don't know, Maybe my mom or my grandparents said this to me.
Speaker B:What you put in comes out.
Speaker B:See again, you can't have negativity in your life and think.
Speaker C:You're always going to be positive.
Speaker B:You can't hear all the bad things that happen in our world every single day of the week and come to church and expect to bring glory to God in your heart and through your heart.
Speaker B:Because all we're thinking about is the end of the days.
Speaker B:Now, I'm thankful for the fact that the end of days is not the end of our king.
Speaker B:We know that.
Speaker B:We know that Jesus is still King, no matter what, we know that we have a future beyond what takes place in our local government, our.
Speaker B:Our.
Speaker B:Our.
Speaker B:Our.
Speaker C:Our.
Speaker B:Our country government and in the world government.
Speaker B:We know that the King is above all.
Speaker B:We're thankful for that.
Speaker B:But there are so many times that we live so negatively as Christians.
Speaker B:Oh, it's doom and gloom.
Speaker B:I don't know what God's going to do.
Speaker B:I know what God's going to do.
Speaker B:He wins.
Speaker B:He wins.
Speaker B:And if he wins, then guess what he does now?
Speaker B:He wins.
Speaker B:Oh, well, brother, it's just so bad out there.
Speaker B:Gas prices keep going up.
Speaker B:My taxes.
Speaker B:You know where Paul was when he wrote the book of Philippi?
Speaker B:The book about joy.
Speaker B:Count it all joy.
Speaker B:When you fall into diverse sufferings.
Speaker B:You know where he was locked up?
Speaker B:Do you know where he was when he sang songs with Silas through the night?
Speaker B:He was in the Philippian jail cell.
Speaker B:He was beaten and bruised.
Speaker B:And he's singing, you know, amazing grace.
Speaker B:He's singing how sweet is the name of Jesus.
Speaker B:He's singing the song that we sang this morning.
Speaker B:You know, he's so great, and I'm not.
Speaker B:If he allowed all that negativity in his life, you know what Paul would have done?
Speaker B:Well, Brother Silas, I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:This might be the end of our life, you know?
Speaker B:No, he's like, hey, let's sing about.
Speaker C:What Christ has done in our life.
Speaker B:Because I believe he's going to use.
Speaker C:This for something greater.
Speaker C:See, the reason.
Speaker C:The reason is because right back to this point.
Speaker C:Remove perversion.
Speaker B:There's a lot of things that can.
Speaker C:Be perversions in our life.
Speaker C:He just deals with things that are lies and things that are boastful.
Speaker C:He sums it up right there.
Speaker C:Remove individuals in your life who are going to lie to you.
Speaker B:They're not going to speak truth to you.
Speaker B:Hey, how do I look today?
Speaker B:You look great.
Speaker B:You know, I don't know how he did it exactly, but.
Speaker B:Hey.
Speaker B:Hey, what do you think about this law that we're about to pass?
Speaker C:Oh, King, you should live forever.
Speaker C:Whatever you want to do.
Speaker B:Hey, what do you think about this?
Speaker C:You know what?
Speaker C:I don't think this lines up with God's word.
Speaker C:Thank you for speaking truth.
Speaker B:Hey, where do we learn that truth in the first place?
Speaker C:From discipline number one.
Speaker C:Listen to the word of God.
Speaker C:Get into it.
Speaker B:Know it intimately.
Speaker C:Number four, and we'll be done.
Speaker C:Discipline number four.
Speaker C:Look and think forward.
Speaker C:Look at verse 25 through 27.
Speaker C:He says, Let thine eyes look right on and Let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Speaker B:And now I'm gonna read the other.
Speaker C:Verses here in a minute.
Speaker B:But these thoughts that are here are amazing.
Speaker B:They're powerful.
Speaker B:And I hope and I pray that they leave you encouraged like they've left me.
Speaker B:As I've been studying through this disciplines.
Speaker C:I'm trying to establish in my own life.
Speaker B:Eyes.
Speaker B:We know what eyes are, right?
Speaker B:Your eyes are open.
Speaker B:You're looking forward.
Speaker B:Great.
Speaker B:Imagine with me for a minute.
Speaker B:It's a early morning.
Speaker B:You're driving to work.
Speaker B:And I drive a school bus every single morning.
Speaker B:And I'm driving usually down Route 55 sometime around 7 o' clock in the morning with a bunch full of kids.
Speaker B:And then I end up driving south and I end up turning east to where the sun is rising right now.
Speaker B:The sun is coming up right there between 6:30 and about 7:15.
Speaker B:And so I turn off the highway and I start going east and there is the sun.
Speaker B:I have this little visor that I can pull down.
Speaker B:It's not good enough.
Speaker B:But I gotta stay on the road, right?
Speaker B:What if I was just.
Speaker B:I can't keep looking, folks.
Speaker B:You tell me where to go.
Speaker B:Sorry, Brad.
Speaker B:You can't drive school buses anymore.
Speaker B:You know, you drove it off because of the sun.
Speaker B:That's why he uses the words eyelids here too.
Speaker B:See what you look at and what you flutter your eyes at.
Speaker B:It carries the illusion of not looking away even when you got something in your eyes.
Speaker B:See something in our eyes is typically distraction.
Speaker B:The sun coming up.
Speaker B:I can't quite see it, but I.
Speaker C:Know that this is the direction that.
Speaker B:I meant to go.
Speaker B:I can't quite see the Lord in front of me.
Speaker B:There's so many other things that are going on around me.
Speaker B:But I hear his voice because I'm listening to his word.
Speaker B:So I'm going to keep moving forward.
Speaker B:Hey.
Speaker B:I can't quite quite tell if this water is going to hold my weight.
Speaker B:But I'm going to go ahead and step out because he bid me to come unto him on the water.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to live this way by faith.
Speaker B:But I know that this is the direction that he's leaving.
Speaker B:Because I'm deep in my word and I saw it before.
Speaker B:But now my eyes are kind of distracted.
Speaker B:I can't quite see everything.
Speaker B:My glasses are gone.
Speaker B:Whatever illusion you want to give here, folks, the only way that we know that we're walking by faith and this is the way forward is why.
Speaker B:Because point number one, discipline number one is that we're reading it.
Speaker B:We know that's what his word said.
Speaker B:It is the foundation of our life.
Speaker B:It is where we are living.
Speaker B:It is what is in us, not something else.
Speaker C:So this understanding is even when I can't quite tell where I'm going because the sun is too bright, I keep moving forward.
Speaker B:Then he goes on, here's a couple.
Speaker C:Other words that are really powerful to connect this.
Speaker C:He says this in 26.
Speaker B:Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established.
Speaker B:Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left.
Speaker C:Remove thy foot from evil.
Speaker B:This word ponder, it means to weigh out or to make level.
Speaker B:It's a measurement word.
Speaker B:It's a measure your way.
Speaker B:Know where you're going.
Speaker C:Hey, I'm going towards the Lord.
Speaker B:Since I know that I'm walking towards the Lord.
Speaker B:I know that this is the path.
Speaker C:That I'm supposed to walk, walk towards.
Speaker B:I know that this is what's going to guide me.
Speaker B:I know that it's not something else.
Speaker B:I know it's not just, you know, encouraging words from businessmen.
Speaker B:I know it's not just the.
Speaker B:I know it's not the government's laws.
Speaker B:I know it's not something else that can be sometimes encouraging.
Speaker B:I know that this is the guide of my soul.
Speaker C:He says it this way, then you'll be established to be firm, to be.
Speaker B:Secure, to be steadfast.
Speaker B:Paul used this word and end the idea in Romans 1.
Speaker B:He says, For I long to see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift so that you may be established.
Speaker B:You know what that spiritual gift that Paul wanted to impart on people?
Speaker B:The word of God.
Speaker B:Hey, guys, this is not new to us.
Speaker B:We know this truth.
Speaker B:But this is sometimes the hardest discipline to live.
Speaker C:But again, if we measure that up to what Christ has done for us on the cross, any excuse that we.
Speaker B:Give to not being in our word.
Speaker C:Like we should be, melts away.
Speaker B:See, as you're looking ahead, you can measure out your walking path.
Speaker C:You can see where it is taking you.
Speaker B:You are walking with purpose instead of aimlessly through life.
Speaker B:And we are where we are in our life today because of the decisions and the path that we have taken.
Speaker B:So maybe some of you this morning, to this point, at this place, you would say, hey, Pastor Brad, I have not allowed the word of God to guide me sometimes.
Speaker B:I've allowed my frustrations, I have allowed anger.
Speaker B:I've allowed different passions.
Speaker B:I've allowed different things.
Speaker B:And because of that, Pastor Brad, I'm at a place in My life where my.
Speaker C:My family and I are not where we should be.
Speaker C:I'm at a place in my life where I am not where I should.
Speaker B:Be, and so I don't know what to do.
Speaker C:Well, I can say it to you.
Speaker C:At this point right now, the path to move ahead starts back with discipline number one, no matter what.
Speaker B:If you know where you are in your life, that the path that you've taken in the past has led you to a place where you shouldn't be, oh, great.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:You know that.
Speaker B:Now let's get back to where you need to be.
Speaker C:Let's start back to where the word God.
Speaker B:Pastor Brad.
Speaker B:I just need a quick fix.
Speaker B:No, that's not how disciplines work, folks.
Speaker B:If it was a quick fix, talk to the men that stood up here earlier and ask them how long they were in their boot camp.
Speaker B:They weren't in it for 24 hours.
Speaker B:They weren't in it for one week.
Speaker B:They were in it as long as it took them to get through the program to be the disciplined soldier they were meant to be, because the purpose of that was to bring them to the place where they could fight for you and I.
Speaker B:And the reasons that we have these disciplines in our life, as we should, and we should be living them, is not just to bring us wealth and prosperity.
Speaker B:As much as some people may want to think it is.
Speaker B:The reasons that we have these disciplines in our life is because there is a battle that we are facing and that we need to fight well, spiritually, because there's an attack that keeps coming that doesn't want to give up.
Speaker B:It's called the devil, the world and the flesh.
Speaker B:And every single one of those things wants to keep you and I from being disciplined in our walk with God.
Speaker B:Now, even if someone does treat me poorly, I have the power to decide how and what I will respond and the direction that it will take me.
Speaker B:Every time that we talk to our kids about a situation that comes up between two or three of them, we say, what decision did you make?
Speaker B:Well, I did this.
Speaker B:Okay, that was your decision.
Speaker B:What you did was wrong.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:Your brother smacked you, right?
Speaker B:Yes, your brother did this, but what did you do?
Speaker B:Well, he shouldn't have.
Speaker B:No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker C:What did you do?
Speaker C:What did he do?
Speaker C:What did you do?
Speaker B:You know, a lot of times as believers, we want to blame someone else.
Speaker C:For the spiritual decisions that we.
Speaker C:Pastor didn't say this to me today.
Speaker B:He didn't welcome me to church this morning.
Speaker B:I'm not going back.
Speaker C:Okay, that's your Decision, not his.
Speaker C:Well.
Speaker B:Well, we didn't do this, and so.
Speaker C:No, that's your decision, not someone else's.
Speaker B:Well, somebody decided to lie about me.
Speaker C:Okay, what did you do in response?
Speaker B:Did you go through the proper channels and deal with it from a spiritual perspective like Jesus taught?
Speaker B:Did you go to your brother who erred against you?
Speaker B:Folks, everything is written out through the word of God, which is discipline number one.
Speaker C:Know it, live it.
Speaker B:One pastor I listened to recently, he made this statement.
Speaker B:I'm going to explain it to you.
Speaker C:And we'll be almost done.
Speaker C:He says this.
Speaker B:Your think, be, and do in life will equal your have.
Speaker B:See, our think is our mindset.
Speaker B:So your mindset, he says, then your be, which is your identity, who you say you are, your do is your action.
Speaker B:So he says, your mindset, your identity, and your actions will equal your results.
Speaker B:See, if you're not happy about where your spiritual results are right now, if you're out of sync, if you're out of alignment spiritually, guess what?
Speaker B:We need to fix our think, be, and do.
Speaker B:We need to figure out where our mindset's off.
Speaker B:We need to figure out where our identity is off.
Speaker B:We need to figure out where our actions are off.
Speaker B:Because then that's going to lead us to the results that we need to have.
Speaker B:Now, I know Pastor Josh is highly disciplined.
Speaker B:I hear him talk about it often.
Speaker C:But are you.
Speaker B:Are you.
Speaker C:Are you disciplined with a woman?
Speaker B:Are you looking forward?
Speaker C:Or are you coasting through life asleep?
Speaker B:Are you wandering through your spiritual life.
Speaker C:Like a taste testing hour in Costco?
Speaker B:Oh, that smells good over here.
Speaker B:Let's go try that.
Speaker B:You know, no.
Speaker C:Why don't we want to become more disciplined in our spiritual walk with God?
Speaker C:See, every one of us need to apply disciplines that help keep us from being out of spiritual alignment.
Speaker B:I was going to have you turn to a passage, and I was going to kind of explain to you from Luke chapter 24, but I just want to explain to you the passage.
Speaker C:I'm going to abbreviate it for you.
Speaker B:In Luke chapter 24, Christ rose from the dead.
Speaker C:Beautiful, incredible passage.
Speaker B:The women, they go to the grave early in the morning, find that a stone is rolled away, the angels are up, and they end up going back to the disciples and telling them everything that they had seen.
Speaker B:And then they had heard the disciples, they don't believe her.
Speaker B:They don't believe the ladies.
Speaker B:They don't.
Speaker B:And so a couple of them run off.
Speaker B:Peter and John run off.
Speaker C:They.
Speaker B:They see the empty tomb, and they're unsure about what they have now seen, heard themselves.
Speaker B:Well, two disciples, not of the 11 apostles, but two of the disciples.
Speaker B:They ended up leaving Jerusalem that day and making their way down to Emmaus.
Speaker B:This is called the road to Emmaus.
Speaker B:And these two disciples, as they're walking on the way, it says that they're having a conversation with each other.
Speaker B:And the wording and the understanding that they're having together, it means that they're having an argument.
Speaker B:They're having an argument of the things that had happened to Christ three days earlier when he died on the cross.
Speaker B:It means that they are having an argument about what they had heard from the women and Peter and John and all these different events are arguing about it.
Speaker B:In fact, when Christ shows up, which they don't know, it's Christ says their eyes are closed to the fact that this is truly Jesus.
Speaker B:It says that Jesus responds to them and says, why are you having this kind of conversation with one another and why are you sad?
Speaker B:So they are emotionally distraught.
Speaker B:They're out of alignment spiritually.
Speaker B:They're kind of going their own way at this point, trying just to figure out how to regather, regroup in their own living.
Speaker B:Because now Messiah is dead.
Speaker B:So Christ, he joins them in this walk.
Speaker C:After that, Jesus, it says, begins to.
Speaker B:Preach to them himself of the things that he must suffer.
Speaker C:That was given from the prophets.
Speaker B:And he preaches this entire sermon to them from the prophets all the way through.
Speaker B:Like, can you imagine Jesus preaching Jesus now?
Speaker B:That in itself would be amazing.
Speaker B:I can't one day wait to get to heaven and just hear the lamb preach to him about the King.
Speaker B:Like to me I'm whoa, like that is amazing.
Speaker B:I cannot wait for those kinds of moments.
Speaker C:What they did during this time because they were in out of spiritual alignment.
Speaker C:They listened to the word of God while they walk with Jesus.
Speaker B:Jesus challenged them right off the bat.
Speaker B:He said, oh fool.
Speaker B:Slow to believe the prophets, meaning the thing that they should be listening to, they weren't.
Speaker B:They weren't protecting their passion.
Speaker B:They weren't protecting their decision maker.
Speaker B:Instead they are reading the Jerusalem News column.
Speaker B:Thus ends the leadership of Jesus of Nazareth.
Speaker C:By the end of the time, together with Jesus, it says their hearts burn.
Speaker B:This means their passions revived.
Speaker B:They silenced the unbelief in the unbelief of others.
Speaker B:They ran back to Jerusalem and it they shared everything with them that they now had experienced with Jesus.
Speaker B:In fact that this idea is they pondered the path of their feet.
Speaker B:They focused on what Jesus would do now he was back from the dead, they set their eyes and their eyelids on him.
Speaker B:Eyelids, the unseen, the unknown, the eyes and what we do see.
Speaker C:Hey, folks, there's a lot of unknowns for you.
Speaker B:There's a lot of unknowns of what's.
Speaker C:Going to happen tomorrow.
Speaker B:But the one thing that we can.
Speaker C:Do in our discipline is come back to the word of God.
Speaker C:Protecting the passions, removing the perverse things.
Speaker B:From our life.
Speaker C:And setting our eyes on him no matter what comes.
Speaker C:No matter what comes.
Speaker B:There may there have been some things.
Speaker C:That I even have allowed to come out of alignment in my life.
Speaker C:You know, just yesterday.
Speaker C:Just yesterday.
Speaker B:There are things that I needed to deal with, with a spiritual alignment in.
Speaker C:My very own home.
Speaker B:There are things that I had allowed to become out of alignment.
Speaker C:Pastor Brad, you struggle with things in.
Speaker B:Your own life, you better believe.
Speaker B:So does Pastor Josh.
Speaker C:So do all of us.
Speaker B:You know what that so encouraging about that is that the Word of God.
Speaker C:Teaches us exactly how to be who we're.
Speaker B:So my question for us this morning.
Speaker C:As we finish up is this just one.
Speaker C:Are you living a spiritually disciplined life?
Speaker B:Party.
Speaker C:We celebrated the disciplines of the men who have stood for us this morning.
Speaker C:Now it's time to celebrate our own life spiritually.
Speaker C:If we are being disciplined as we should or not.
Speaker B:Maybe right away, off the bat.
Speaker C:You know what, Pastor Brad?
Speaker C:There's something right now that the Holy Spirit is revealing to me.
Speaker C:Become undisciplined.
Speaker B:I have not allowed the Word of God in my life like I should.
Speaker B:Or I'm allowing too much perverseness in.
Speaker C:My life like I shouldn't.
Speaker B:Or.
Speaker B:Or I'm not protecting the passions like I should.
Speaker B:Or.
Speaker B:Or I'm not looking forward.
Speaker B:I'm kind of looking behind and saying, look at the good old days.
Speaker B:It was much easier to be a Christian back then.
Speaker C:No, folks, we're missing the point.
Speaker B:The Word of God doesn't teach us when it was easier.
Speaker B:The Word of God teaches us what it means to be strong right now.
Speaker C:So you might be able to say, pastor Brad, that's me.
Speaker C:There's something in my life that discipline.
Speaker C:I'm not going to have you raise your hand.
Speaker C:I'm not your pastor.
Speaker C:I'm your friend.
Speaker C:So here's what I'm going to do.
Speaker C:As the piano plays in a minute, I'm going to lead us in prayer in just a sec and I'm going to invite you to come forward, spend some time down here praying there's something in my life.
Speaker C:Not disciplined it.
Speaker C:Well, Pastor, what if so and so.
Speaker B:Sees me walk forward, I'm a deacon, and they see that I'm not disciplined in my life.
Speaker B:Good.
Speaker B:Let them see you lead in an area of your life that you want to be more disciplined.
Speaker B:Hey, Pastor Brian, I don't know what my spouse is going to think.
Speaker B:Who cares?
Speaker B:Do what needs to be done in your life spiritually.
Speaker B:Make a commitment before the King of Kings and show others that you want.
Speaker C:To lead by discipline spiritually in your life.
Speaker B:Maybe you would go back to your.
Speaker C:Your house later today and you say.
Speaker B:Hey, you know what?
Speaker C:The reason I went forward this morning is because I need to spend more time reading my Bible.
Speaker C:Would you help encourage me to do so?
Speaker C:Or hey, you know, there's this area in my life.
Speaker B:I've been allowing a lot of media in my life that's been causing me.
Speaker C:To feel so negative.
Speaker C:I don't want that anymore.
Speaker B:Or maybe I've allowed this other thing, or maybe I haven't protected the thing that needs the most protection.
Speaker C:Let's start it now before the King.
Speaker C:Let's all stand.
Speaker B:Heads are bowed, eyes are closed.
Speaker B:Heavenly Father, I thank you for the few moments that we had to be.
Speaker C:Able to be in your word.
Speaker B:I thank you for the wisdom to.
Speaker C:Which you have given to your son.
Speaker B:And Lord in this picture.
Speaker B:This picture.
Speaker B:Every single one of us are learning this wisdom.
Speaker C:As sons and daughters, we're learning this.
Speaker B:Wisdom, applying the spiritual truth to our life.
Speaker B:Because, Lord, I believe in my heart.
Speaker C:There are many times that I need.
Speaker B:To be reminded of where I am.
Speaker C:Off with my alignment.
Speaker C:Spiritually.
Speaker B:I thank you for your grace.
Speaker B:I thank you for your mercy.
Speaker B:Endureth for forever.
Speaker C:That reading that we read this morning, what a.
Speaker C:What a connection that we're able to make.
Speaker B:Lord, if we're afraid of the consequences of our sinfulness, Lord, help us to be more grateful for the mercy to which you give.
Speaker B:Lord, help us not to be driven by fear, but be driven by your love, your healing, your forgiveness.
Speaker C:Lord, thank you for a place that we can come together as a unified body under your word, to be challenged in a way that allows us to grow faithfully.
Speaker C:Lord, if there's anyone here this morning who's still struggling with this thought, I ask that you would give them the encouragement that they need or that they would do business with you as you have begun to do business.
Speaker C:Precious Son's name, Jesus Christ.
Speaker B:Piano's going to play.
Speaker B:You come.
Speaker C:You come.
Speaker B:Don't wait.
Speaker B:Foreign.
Speaker C:We love you.
Speaker B:We thank you for the fact that.
Speaker C:We were reminded that having Jesus is greater than gold, silver and anything that.
Speaker B:The world.
Speaker C:Or if there's someone here still this morning who's struggling with this decision of discipline, they're out of spiritual alignment.
Speaker C:Maybe there's someone here this morning who has not yet Jesus Christ alone.
Speaker C:The place that we find our first alignment is in a relationship.
Speaker C:So Father, I ask that you would, you would encourage them to do business with somebody, to talk about it with somebody, ask the question.
Speaker C:They can.
Speaker C:They can come to the place where you, you, Holy Spirit, are leading them to.
Speaker C:Lord, we thank you for this moment.
Speaker C:Your precious son, Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.
Speaker A:I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.
Speaker A:If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
Speaker A:You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, Middletown BaptistChurch.com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:God bless.
Speaker A:Have a wonderful day.
