WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:04.080 If you pull out your message notes now. In the 2 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:06.919 first message in this new series on time to Dream 3 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:09.880 and open doors, in our campaign last week, I gave 4 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:13.839 you a dozen reasons why you have to know God's 5 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:15.919 dream for your life. If you miss that message, you 6 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:19.800 really need to listen to it. A dozen reasons why 7 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:24.399 you're not living. You're just existing if you don't know 8 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:29.800 God's dream for your life. But one of the things 9 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:32.320 that I said is that God's dream for your life 10 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:36.920 is always, always bigger than your dream for your life. 11 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:40.840 The Bible says God can do far more than you 12 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:45.320 think or ask, or imagine or even dream of. God's 13 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:47.880 dream for your life is bigger than your dream for 14 00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:50.280 your life. That's why you need to discover it. That's 15 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:52.880 why you need to develop it. But I want to 16 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:56.399 pause before we go into the actual steps of discovering 17 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:58.479 God's dream for your life, and talk to you this 18 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:03.240 week about the biggest barrier that will keep you from 19 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:10.359 God's dream. The number one barrier to your future is 20 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:15.439 your past. It's your past because we tend to perpetrate 21 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:20.079 the past. Now your past is past, it's over, it's 22 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.159 done with. But a lot of people still try to 23 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:26.000 live in the past. You can't live in the past. 24 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:29.640 It's over, it's done with. But you can live in 25 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:33.599 the present and you can prepare and dream for the future. 26 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:37.120 So this weekend I want us to look at living 27 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:45.560 God's dream despite poor past decisions, because I meet people 28 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:48.799 all the time ago, Well, I think maybe I had 29 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:52.799 my chance, but I've missed God's dream. I'm now on 30 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.400 plan B or C or D or E, and I 31 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.480 don't know. I don't deserve to have God's dream because 32 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:04.439 I so messed up so much of my past. I 33 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:08.520 don't even know if I should dream. Well, you're dead wrong, 34 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:12.319 but I'm glad you came this weekend because we're gonna 35 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:18.840 look at how to live God's dream despite past poor decisions. Now, 36 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:21.159 the one reason we know that God's word is God's word, 37 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:23.080 that the Bible is God's word is it always tells 38 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:25.719 us the truth, even we don't like to hear it. 39 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:28.759 It tells us the truth. And the first verse there 40 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:32.599 on your outline, James, chapter three, verse two says this 41 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:39.560 we all stumble in many ways. Everybody agree with that verse. Yeah, 42 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:43.520 we're all in the same boat. Okay, we all. I 43 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:47.599 looked up that word all it means all. Okay, we 44 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:52.319 all stumble. We mess up, we screw up, we make mistakes, 45 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:56.120 we sin, we have problems, we hurt other people, we 46 00:02:56.199 --> 00:03:00.520 hurt ourselves. We all stumble in many many This is 47 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:04.319 one of the most obvious truths of the universe. I mean, 48 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.439 I've never met anybody in all my years who's claim 49 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.719 to be perfect that they've never stumbled. No, No, we've 50 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:13.599 all messed up in many ways. Just a couple other 51 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:17.199 verses on the screen. Ecclesiastes seven twenty there's not a 52 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:23.759 single person in all the earth who's always good and 53 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:28.599 never sins. That includes me, it includes you, includes the pope, 54 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:32.840 includes everybody. There's not a person on earth who always 55 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:37.199 does what's right, always does what's good, and never does 56 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:41.159 what's wrong. The Bible says it like this in Romans 57 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:44.560 three twenty three. Yeah, all of us, all of us. Again, 58 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:48.000 there's that word, all of us have sinned. Everyone falls 59 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:52.520 short of God's glorious ideal. Now another way to say 60 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:54.919 that verses all of us have sinned, and all of 61 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:00.639 us falls short of God's original dream for our lives. Okay, 62 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:05.400 we've all fallen short of God's original dream for our lives. 63 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:08.439 Does that mean that that dream is now on hold? No, 64 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:12.879 it does not, it does not. We all fall short 65 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:16.560 of the glorious idea. We don't hit perfection. We don't 66 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:19.480 get what God has dreamed for us. But this is 67 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.279 why Jesus came to earth. He said this on the screen, 68 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:28.439 Luke nineteen ten. I came, Jesus said, to save and 69 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:36.160 restore what was lost, what's lost When we make poor choices, 70 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:43.800 we lose our vision, we lose our dignity. We can 71 00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:49.959 lose our identity. We can lose our confidence. We can 72 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:55.160 lose our joy, we can lose our peace of mind. 73 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:01.639 We can lose our plans and dreams and hopes. A 74 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:05.800 lot of stuff's lost from our poor decisions. But the 75 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.240 whole reason Jesus came to earth, he said, I came 76 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:14.360 to recover and to restore that which is lost. And 77 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:19.319 part of what Jesus came to restore is God's original 78 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:22.959 dream for you. He hadn't moved on to Plan B 79 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:27.079 in your life. He still has Plan A in your life. 80 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.800 He still has his original dream for why He made you, 81 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.639 regardless of what has happened in your life, what other 82 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:36.680 people have done to you or what other people have 83 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:39.720 done against you, or what you have done to yourself, 84 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:43.160 or all the poor decisions that other people you made. 85 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:50.120 How do you live God's dream despite past poor decisions? Well, 86 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:52.399 I want us this weekend to look at the steps 87 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:57.160 because the Bible gives us a very clear pathway on 88 00:05:57.279 --> 00:05:59.959 how to get back on track, to how to get 89 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:04.160 back to God's original dream even if you haven't been 90 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:08.040 there for fifty years, how do you get back? It's 91 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:11.560 never too late to get back on track with the 92 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:16.360 original plan God had for your life. He hasn't shelved it. 93 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:20.279 It's still in force in your life. So what are 94 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:26.360 the steps to recovering God's original dream for my life 95 00:06:26.759 --> 00:06:28.600 even though I may have not even known about it 96 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:34.360 until now? Well, there are six steps. I want you 97 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.720 to write these down. Here's number one. The first step 98 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:42.279 in recovering God's dream for my life is to honestly 99 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:48.600 accept responsibility for my poor choices. That's where we start. 100 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.600 I just go, I own up and say I honestly 101 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:55.519 accept the responsibility for all the dumb choices I've made 102 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:59.079 in life. Nobody was holding the gun to my head. 103 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.399 Nobody forced you to make the choices that you made. 104 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:05.680 You chose to make them, and I've chosen. And the 105 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.319 Bible says we've all stumbled in many ways, we've all 106 00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:11.600 made poor choices. Now what this means when I don't 107 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:17.720 when I don't accuse others and I don't excuse myself, 108 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:20.560 which is what we typically do. We accuse an excuse. 109 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:24.079 Since Adam and Eve, God's people and everybody has had 110 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:28.600 this accusing, excusing, we excuse ourselves well well well, and 111 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:31.319 we accuse others. We blame others. You've heard me say 112 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:36.480 many times, you spell blame, be lame. Every time you blame, 113 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:42.639 you are being lame. So don't excuse and accuse it. Now, 114 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:45.279 there are many many examples. I could give it scripture 115 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:49.439 on why we make poor choices. Let me just give 116 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:53.319 you one. Uh. It is the time when Peter betrayed 117 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.040 Jesus Christ the night before he goes to the cross, 118 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.399 and Jesus even predicted said Peter, you're going to deny 119 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:06.959 me three times before tomorrow morning. And in Peter's night 120 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:10.399 before Jesus goes to the cross betrayal where he betrays 121 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:15.360 Jesus three different times, he makes three really poor choices, 122 00:08:15.879 --> 00:08:19.720 but he does it for four very common reasons. So 123 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:22.120 I want you to see these. They're all in Mark 124 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:24.439 chapter fourteen if you want to read about it. Mark 125 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:28.480 chapter fourteen is Jesus being betrayed by Peter. And there's 126 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.959 fourth common causes. The first cause that causes us to 127 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:37.519 make poor choices. Write this down is pride, pride, arrogance, 128 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:44.799 ego egotism. The Bible says that pride causes us to 129 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:49.639 make dumb decisions. Now we see this in the Upper room. 130 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:52.480 Jesus is in the upper room with his closest disciples, 131 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:57.039 the original twelve. They're taking the Lord's Supper together. Jesus says, 132 00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:59.600 at that moment, one of you is going to betray me. 133 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.840 One guy pipes up, saying, no way, Jose, that isn't 134 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:06.399 gonna happen. Who is it? It's Peter. And in Bark 135 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:09.440 chapter fourteen, verse twenty nine, Peter in the upper room 136 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.519 says this. Everybody else may stumble in their faith, but 137 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:19.360 I won't. He's being set up by the devil right here, 138 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:24.320 big big target on his back. Nobody else makes this 139 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:28.279 boast of the twelve guys, but Peter, of all the guys, goes, Lord, 140 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:32.320 all these losers over here, they may deny you, they 141 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:35.679 may back out, they may wimp out on you. I 142 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:37.600 know what you're about to go through. You're getting ready 143 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:40.240 to be arrested and tortured and go to the crossmit. 144 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:42.799 In no way am I going to back out. I 145 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.399 die for you. He's setting himself up with pride. The 146 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:51.519 Bible says Fennyman thinks he's not gonna fall take heed 147 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:54.919 because he probably will. And the people who brag about 148 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.440 their confidence the most are the ones who are going 149 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:01.240 to most likely stumble. He said. Everybody may stumble, but 150 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:04.159 I won't. It's his pride. Proverbs eleven, verse two on 151 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:09.279 the screen says pride leads to disgrace, but humility leads 152 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:12.320 to wisdom. Anytime I start thinking I'm a hot shot, 153 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:16.320 I'm dead in the water already. Anytime I start thinking 154 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:20.679 I'm invincible, this can't happen to me. I'm already dead. 155 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:25.879 Given the right situation. You and I are capable of 156 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:31.320 any sin given the right situation. If you don't believe that, 157 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:35.559 you're already in trouble. Because the Bible says the heart suceitful. 158 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:38.279 You lie to yourself, and I lie to myself more 159 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.879 than we lie to anybody else. Pride causes us to 160 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:45.080 make dumb decisions. Have you ever made a dumb decision 161 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.360 out of pride? Don't give me your illustration, but I 162 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.000 know you can think of one. Okay, number two. Second 163 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:57.840 cause of poor decisions in life fatigue. Fatigue when you 164 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:02.240 get tired, when you get warned, when your resources are low, 165 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:06.440 when you're stressed to the limit, when you're hanging on 166 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:10.080 and you're about to go under, you're at the end 167 00:11:10.120 --> 00:11:15.080 of your rope, when you're fatigued. Vince Lombardi, the Great Coach, said, 168 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:18.600 fatigue makes cowards of all of us. And it does. 169 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.200 The more fatigued you are, the more fearful you will 170 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:25.399 tend to become, and the more controlling you will tend 171 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:29.600 to be. Now, now, Jesus, Before he is arrested, he 172 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:31.639 goes to this place, his favorite place to pray, is 173 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:34.159 called the Garden of Gossemite. And while he's there, he 174 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:36.320 takes the twelve guys with him, and he takes three 175 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:38.480 of them, Peter, James, and John goes, you guys, come 176 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:40.360 along with me. I just need you to be here 177 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:42.080 with me while I pray. I don't need you to 178 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:44.080 pray for me. I just need you to be with 179 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.639 me the ministry of presence while I'm praying through what 180 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:52.480 I'm going to face tomorrow, being crucified and tortured. So 181 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:56.240 Jesus is there praying his heart out, and the three guys, Peter, James, 182 00:11:56.279 --> 00:12:00.720 and John all fall asleep and in Mark after fourteen 183 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:05.679 verse thirty seven, Jesus wakes up, goes, guys, could you 184 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:10.799 not stay awake with me for just one hour? Just 185 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:12.919 one hour? I'm just ask you to stay awake with 186 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.919 me for one hour. What's happened? They're fatigued. When you 187 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:19.080 get fatigued, you're going to make poor choices in your eye. 188 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:22.720 Never make a major decision when you're tired or depressed. 189 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.840 Never make a major decision when you're tired or depressed. Okay, 190 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:31.879 here's the third reason people make bad decisions. Fear of disapproval. 191 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:35.720 When you start worrying about what other people think. What 192 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:39.240 will other people think if I make this decision? What 193 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:41.759 will other people think if I stand up for God, 194 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.720 if I represent Christ at my business site, at my 195 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.279 job site, at my school. What will other people think? 196 00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:52.679 That's going to cause you to make a poor decision. 197 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:56.919 The fear of disapproval. After Jesus is arrested that night, 198 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:02.720 the Bible says this mark sitting before that, Peter followed Jesus. 199 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:07.720 How at a distance? Circle that at a distance. He's 200 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:11.320 following Jesus at a distance. Anytime you follow Jesus at 201 00:13:11.320 --> 00:13:15.120 a distance, you're gonna make dumb decisions. You gotta get 202 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:16.879 as close to God as you can. You got to 203 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:19.600 get as close to Jesus as you can. Peter, who's 204 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.440 been right by his side for three and a half 205 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:24.639 years now, he's scared to death and he's following Jesus. 206 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:27.519 He's just following him from a distance. Are you doing that? 207 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:36.279 Are you following Jesus from a distance. Oh yeah, I'm saved. 208 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:39.559 I'm in the family of God. I'm a believer, I'm 209 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:44.879 a Christian. But you're following God as a distance. You're 210 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:47.879 gonna make dumb decisions if you follow at a distance. 211 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.000 Why do you follow at a distance? Why was Peter 212 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:52.519 following this? Because he's afraid if I get you close 213 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:57.399 to Jesus, they might crucify me too. They might torture 214 00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:01.000 me too, they might arrest me too. And he's concerned 215 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:03.840 for his own safety. He's following at a distance because 216 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:06.840 he's worried about what other people think. When you worry 217 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:09.159 about what other people think, you're always going to make 218 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:13.200 the wrong decision. All right, here's the fourth reason we 219 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:22.840 make poor decisions. Short term pleasure. Short term pleasure. You know, 220 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:25.559 you're getting ready to go to bed at night, and 221 00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:28.879 you know, really probably eating a banana split isn't the 222 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:33.600 best thing for me, but it would be so good 223 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:38.159 while I'm eating it. And so we go for short 224 00:14:38.279 --> 00:14:43.720 term pleasure instead of long term health. And this happens 225 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:48.080 in a thousand different ways. When people overspend on their 226 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:51.159 credit card and they get deeper and deeper and deeper 227 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:54.080 into debt. Why they're doing short term pleasure. I gotta 228 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:55.799 have it, I gotta have it now. I got to 229 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:59.159 have it now, even if I can't afford it. They're 230 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:02.960 exchanging short term pleasure for long term pain. Now, here's 231 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:06.120 what you need to understand in life. Put up with 232 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:09.480 pain now, you'll have pleasure later on in life. Put 233 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:12.480 up with enjoy pleasure. Now you're gonna have pain later 234 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:14.360 on in life to pay back for all the things 235 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:18.120 you paid for. It's one or the other. If you 236 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:22.080 put up with discipline and put up with some inconvenience now, 237 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:25.679 and you save your money, you'll have a lot more 238 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:28.519 pleasure later on in life. But if you spend it 239 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:32.039 all now short term pleasure, then you're gonna have the 240 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:34.039 pain there. You're gonna have it one way or the other. 241 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:39.240 You get to choose short term pleasure, Matthew, excuse me. 242 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:42.360 Mark fourteen, verse fifty four, it says, so then Peter 243 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.799 sat down with the guards and warned himself. At the fire, 244 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:51.240 I imagine they were making smores. Anybody got a hot 245 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.000 dog stick? Well, there are some weenies and have hot 246 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:59.200 dog makemores? Is this fun? Jesus is being arrested and tortured, 247 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.600 and what's he He's sitting sitting with the enemy around 248 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:08.240 the campfire. Why it's convenient, it's comfortable. Anytime I place 249 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:13.759 comfort before character, I'm gonna make poor decisions. Anytime I 250 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:20.120 put short term gain over long term gain, I'm gonna 251 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:24.639 I'm gonna make poor decisions. Now, those are four common causes. 252 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:27.000 Are a lot more. But we all make poor choices 253 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:30.200 out of pride, out of fatigue, out of fear of disapproval, 254 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:33.200 and out of short term pleasure. Now here's an interesting point. 255 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:38.360 These four things that caused Peter to make dumb decisions. 256 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:43.399 Jesus wasn't surprised by any of them. In fact, Jesus 257 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:48.480 told Peter in advance, this is what's gonna happen. Jesus 258 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:51.879 knew that Peter was gonna betray him before Peter did, 259 00:16:52.279 --> 00:16:56.360 because he's God. And he even tells him. And he says, Peter, 260 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.519 before the rooster crows three times tomorrow morning, you're gonna 261 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:05.559 deny me three times. And here's what he says. Look 262 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:09.759 at the next verse. Jesus isn't surprised by our failures 263 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:14.039 in life. Luke twenty two, Verse thirty one thirty Jesus said, Simon, Peter, 264 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:20.799 Satan has asked to test you, but I have prayed 265 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:25.160 for you. Satan has asked to test you, but I 266 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:29.119 have prayed for you that your faith will not fail. 267 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:34.200 So when you have repented and recovered, this is after 268 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:39.759 you've denied me, I want you to strengthen the other disciples. Now, 269 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:42.480 this is a very powerful verse that teaches us a 270 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.920 lot about your failures. Okay, First, I want you to 271 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:50.240 notice that Jesus knows every failure in your life before 272 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:55.799 it happens. Okay, He's not gonna be surprised you're gonna 273 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:59.759 have failures this next year. You're gonna make some bad 274 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:04.759 decisions in the future. He already knows them. God knows past, present, 275 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:06.440 future all the same time. So it's not like I 276 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:09.799 go oh Man, didn't see that one coming, didn't know 277 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:12.160 you were gonna make that one before you were born. 278 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:15.160 He knew every dumb decision you'd make and I would make. 279 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.880 Jesus knows every failure before it happens. Then notice next, 280 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:25.200 Jesus prays for you before it happens, the things that 281 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:28.119 you're gonna fail at, this next week, this next month, 282 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:32.000 this next year, the next ten years. Jesus has already 283 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:36.759 prayed for you. That's what he says. He's already prayed 284 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:41.200 for the dumb mistakes you're gonna make, the bad decisions 285 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:45.119 you're gonna choose. He says, I know what you're gonna 286 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.920 what's gonna happen. And not only that, I've already prayed 287 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:51.960 for you. I've already prayed for you. And then notice, 288 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:55.720 he says, when you have repented and recovered. He didn't 289 00:18:55.720 --> 00:19:03.680 say if Jesus knows you're gonna recover, Jesus already knows 290 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:07.960 you're going to recover from the sins and the mistakes 291 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:12.039 and the bad decisions that you're going to make in 292 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:14.920 the future. He already knows, he knows what they are. 293 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:17.279 But he also knows He's prayed for you, and so 294 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:20.279 he knows you're going to recover. He says, when you 295 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:23.920 have recovered and repented, and then he says, I want 296 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:26.319 you to strengthen the other disciples. Here's the fourth thing. 297 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:29.960 Jesus wants you to help others with what you learn 298 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:36.240 from your mistakes. WHOA. Now we're getting somewhere. We're in 299 00:19:36.279 --> 00:19:38.559 this series. We're going to take six weeks to talk 300 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:42.079 about God's dream for your life. Part of God's dream 301 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:45.039 for your life is to take the lessons of your 302 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:52.720 mistakes and help somebody else. The same four things he 303 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.119 said to Peter, he says to you, I know every 304 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.680 mistake you're going to make in life. I've already prayed 305 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.480 for every mistake you're gonna make in life. I know 306 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:06.480 you're gonna come back to me after that mistake in life, 307 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:09.039 and I want you to help other people when you've 308 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:16.160 come back. That's a comfort. That's good news because it 309 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:21.359 means Ultimately, I can't destroy my own life if I've 310 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:25.440 given it to God, because he is gonna work it 311 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:30.160 all out. So the first step in recovering God's original 312 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:35.119 dream is just a humbly or honestly accept responsibility for 313 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:37.480 my poor choices. Yeah, that was a dumb one. And 314 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:39.000 that was a dumb one. And that was a dumb one, 315 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:41.279 and that was a very hurtful one. And that was 316 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:44.640 an evil choice that I made. And I made it 317 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.279 out of pride, and I made it out of fatigue. 318 00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:48.000 And I may have made it out of fear of 319 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:50.680 what other people think. I may have made it out 320 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:57.200 of choosing short term pleasure over long term character. Here's 321 00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:59.920 the second step. Now, I moved to the second step 322 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:05.440 after I honestly accept responsibility. Number two, I humbly ask 323 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:11.720 for God's mercy and forgiveness. I humbly ask for God's 324 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:16.720 mercy and forgiveness. Now I don't have to explain this 325 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:20.799 a lot, because it just means humbly ask. If you 326 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.519 don't know what to pray, I would highly recommend you 327 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:30.640 learn and read Psalm fifty one. Write that down. Psalm 328 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:34.839 fifty one. Psalm fifty one is David's prayer of confession 329 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:37.720 after he'd had a guy murdered so he could steal 330 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:43.720 his wife. Pretty significant sin, adultery and murder and the 331 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:46.599 same thing. And in Psalm fifty one, if you don't 332 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.960 know what to pray when you need to confess to 333 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:52.640 God something you've really blown up, here's what to pray. 334 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:55.440 Psalm fifty one, Verses one to three, verse six, and 335 00:21:55.519 --> 00:22:02.079 verse ten, David said, have mercy on me, God, because 336 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:08.240 of your unfailing love. In your great compassion, please wipe 337 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:13.680 out the stain of all my wrongdoing, wash away all 338 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:19.720 my guilt. Cleanse me from my sins, for I am 339 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:25.799 haunted by my failures and I can't forget the evil 340 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:29.400 things I've done. I can't forget it. I'm haunted by it. 341 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:34.920 I know, he says, I know you love, complete honesty 342 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:40.720 from my heart. So help me see what's deep inside me, 343 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:43.599 what made me do this, what caused me to make 344 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:50.400 this dumb decision. Help me to see what's deep inside me. Then, God, 345 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:56.880 create a new pure heart in me and renew my 346 00:22:57.079 --> 00:23:00.920 spirit with the right desire. I want to do the 347 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.039 right thing. I want to do what's right and restore 348 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:11.319 the joy of your salvation. Then he says, I'll help 349 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:17.319 bring others back to you too. Now I want you 350 00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:20.680 to notice that in this thing, David, in this just 351 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:26.200 small passage, the whole chapters are terrific. He mentions eight 352 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:27.720 things he asked God to do. I want you to 353 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:31.000 circle them all. First, he says, have mercy. Circle that 354 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:36.599 have mercy. And then he says, wipe out circle, wipe out, 355 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:40.440 wipe out the stain of all my wrongdoing. Then he says, 356 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:42.920 not only have mercy and wipe out, he says wash away, 357 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:48.039 wash away circle that all my guilt, and cleanse me 358 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:52.880 circle that cleanse me from my sins. And then he says, 359 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:55.279 down a little bit further, he says, help me see 360 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.400 circle that help me see. These are things you could 361 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:03.160 ask God whenever you help me see what's deep inside 362 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:06.759 of me. Then he says, create a new pure heart 363 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:09.920 in me. Circle that create a new pure heart in me. 364 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:13.920 And then he says, and renew my spirit with the 365 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.480 right desires, renew my spirit. Circle that and restore the 366 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:22.119 joy circle that. These are eight things you can ask 367 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.720 God to do in your prayer when you have committed 368 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:30.480 any kind of mistake or sin or evil or whatever 369 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:34.119 you can say these eight things to God and then 370 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:38.759 notice circle what David promises to do back. He says, 371 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:44.319 then I'll help bring others back to you too. Isn't 372 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:48.559 this interesting that David promises to do to God the 373 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:52.240 very thing that Jesus told Peter to do when he 374 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:56.400 was restored. He said, Peter, I know you're gonna blow it, 375 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:58.720 but when you come back, I want you to help 376 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:03.079 other people with what you've learned from your mistakes. I 377 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:05.640 want you to help other people with what you've learned 378 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:08.799 from your sins. I want to bring good out of bad. 379 00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:13.680 I want you to help other people. And this is 380 00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:17.680 exactly what David promises to do. Here. He goes, God, 381 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:20.799 I have totally blown it, and I don't deserve any 382 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:22.519 of this, but I'm asking to do this, this, and 383 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:25.480 this because you're a good, loving God. And he says, 384 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:28.400 you know if you do that, Then he says, I'm 385 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:34.359 going to do what Jesus later told Peter to do, 386 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:37.559 and that is he says, I'll help other people with 387 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:42.640 the pain I've been through. Who could better help somebody 388 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:45.559 through the pain of a broken relationship than somebody who 389 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:49.559 went through the pain of a broken relationship who can 390 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:52.920 better help somebody struggling with an addiction, then somebody went 391 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:56.440 through an addiction. Who could better help somebody who went 392 00:25:56.519 --> 00:26:00.960 through a fiasco of a marriage than somebody who went 393 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:03.839 through a fiasco of a marriage, And on and on. 394 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:07.839 I'm telling you that God says your past is part 395 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.119 of the plan that I want to even use the 396 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:14.079 bad parts in your life for good. You're gonna go 397 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:18.079 through pain in life, don't waste it. This is the 398 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:22.079 difference between believers and non believers. Everybody in the world 399 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:25.160 has the same kind of pain. The differences Believers use 400 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:29.920 it to help others. We use it for good, We 401 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:35.440