Speaker 1: I want to talk about I want to talk about
Speaker 1: renewing our mind, and I want to give some context
Speaker 1: to that talking about renewing our mind. And the reason
Speaker 1: we need to renew our mind is that our mind
Speaker 1: was of course connected to darkness, connected to first Adam,
Speaker 1: connected to on the unclean realm. Our mind our thinking
Speaker 1: before we come to the Lord. Our mind is perverse,
Speaker 1: our mind is depressed, our mind is prideful, our mind
Speaker 1: is fearful. We have all of these negative things going
Speaker 1: on in our thoughts, in our lives and their contrary
Speaker 1: to God. So that's the common thing with our mind.
Speaker 1: When we come to the Lord, we give the Lord
Speaker 1: our heart, we open up our life to him, we
Speaker 1: welcome him into our life, and we recognize that what
Speaker 1: Jesus has done for us, the sacrifice of Jesus, has
Speaker 1: opened the door for us to have our relationship with Father,
Speaker 1: and that our sins are forgiven. When we come to
Speaker 1: God through Jesus, then what happens is we're born of
Speaker 1: the spirit. The Bible says we're born again, We're born
Speaker 1: of the spirit. We're born a second time, because when
Speaker 1: we're born in atom and in the fallen atom, we're
Speaker 1: born wrong. We're born messed up. Anybody know what I'm
Speaker 1: talking about in the room. So we're born again, and
Speaker 1: that's when we're born of the spirit, and the Holy
Speaker 1: Spirit comes to dwell on the inside of us when
Speaker 1: we look to Jesus, when we trust that he's our salvation.
Speaker 1: But we still have the old way of thinking. Most
Speaker 1: of the old way of thinking sticks around. I mean,
Speaker 1: you might get delivered from a couple things and you
Speaker 1: pray that prayer of salvation, but for the most part,
Speaker 1: our thinking remains the same, only now living on the
Speaker 1: inside of our heart. The Holy Spirit is there to
Speaker 1: coach us, to testify of truth, to convict us. You
Speaker 1: ever felt conviction. When you feel conviction, it's more than
Speaker 1: an emotion.
Speaker 2: You feel a word, and it's like a word like.
Speaker 1: Go this way, go that way, join yourself to this,
Speaker 1: stop doing that right. Conviction is a feeling, but it's
Speaker 1: also a word. And that word is a word of
Speaker 1: direction or a word of correction, or a word of
Speaker 1: counsel or a word of coaching right, and it's a
Speaker 1: word that moves us in a right direction, and it's
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit helping us. It's the testimony of Jesus on
Speaker 1: the inside. Every Christian, every born of the spirit person
Speaker 1: has this testimony of Jesus, this conviction. And actually that's
Speaker 1: the word of God on the inside of you. Think
Speaker 1: about how important that is. That's the word of God
Speaker 1: on the inside of you. So even conviction, though it
Speaker 1: might not, it might not fluff you ever. You know,
Speaker 1: we talk about fluffing the wool on the sheep. You know,
Speaker 1: the shepherd fluffs the wool on the sheep. You know,
Speaker 1: it might not stroke your wool in a way that
Speaker 1: makes you feel just absolutely amazing. But if you respond
Speaker 1: to that correction or that direction or that coaching, the
Speaker 1: result will be something fruitful, something good, right, something wonderful.
Speaker 1: And so the only Spirit is talking to us or
Speaker 1: seeking to talk to us once we come to know
Speaker 1: the Lord. And even that talk is renewing the mind,
Speaker 1: even that talking, because what we do is when we
Speaker 1: hear Holy Spirit, when we hear that voice leading us,
Speaker 1: coaching us, directing us, then we leave off what we
Speaker 1: were thinking, We leave off what we were believing, we
Speaker 1: leave off what we were meditating on.
Speaker 2: We leave off a plan.
Speaker 1: And maybe that plan was attached to something prideful or
Speaker 1: something depressing, or maybe it was exaggeration or a falsehood
Speaker 1: or deception, or maybe it was rejection or worthlessness. Right,
Speaker 1: maybe it was something, maybe it was judgment or jealousy.
Speaker 1: But when the Holy Spirit convicts us of that, that's.
Speaker 2: An inner word. Now.
Speaker 1: I know we're used to you know, I don't have
Speaker 1: my Bible up here. We're used to thinking that the
Speaker 1: word of God is the word.
Speaker 2: But can't.
Speaker 1: If you don't trust or believe that God can say
Speaker 1: more than what's written in the canon of Scripture, you've
Speaker 1: got the wrong God. God is omniscient God. That means
Speaker 1: he's all knowing. He's omnipotent, That means he's all powerful. Right,
Speaker 1: he's omnipresent. That means he's everywhere. So God is talking
Speaker 1: to us, and when he talks to you, we should
Speaker 1: value that speech on the inside of our heart like
Speaker 1: we do the leather bound thing that we pack around
Speaker 1: under our arm, or the Bible app that we open
Speaker 1: up where we discover the truth of God's word, because
Speaker 1: that coaching, that correction, that leading, that guiding is coming
Speaker 1: by and through the living Word of God on the
Speaker 1: inside of you. And what he's trying to do is
Speaker 1: he's trying to wash he's trying to wash the crud
Speaker 1: of us.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: So Ephesians five says that he washes us with the
Speaker 1: water of the Word, the water of the Word, not
Speaker 1: just the water of the logos, but the water of
Speaker 1: his word.
Speaker 2: You think about this. Before we had the New.
Speaker 1: Testament, Holy Spirit was working before the New Testament was written.
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit was working before the New Testament was written.
Speaker 1: There were Christians, there were people coming to know Jesus,
Speaker 1: and they were responding to the voice of Holy Spirit
Speaker 1: in them, the prophetic word of the Lord with ministering
Speaker 1: to them. He was washing them with the water of
Speaker 1: his word. We have to let him, We have to
Speaker 1: draw near to him, We have to spend time with him,
Speaker 1: because he wants to wash us with the water of
Speaker 1: his word. And when he does that, he's renewing our mind.
Speaker 1: And we leave off the old and we embrace the new.
Speaker 1: We leave off the dead, we embrace the resurrected. The resurrection.
Speaker 1: Life is a life that's abounding in the leading of
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Yes, now, the reason that I handed out
Speaker 1: this sheet to you two weeks in a row now
Speaker 1: is because I want you thinking that you're a new creation.
Speaker 1: I want you meditating that you're not a dirty, old sinner,
Speaker 1: that you are not failing all the time, that you're
Speaker 1: not just a big mess that needs constant forgiveness. I
Speaker 1: want you thinking in terms of what Holy Spirit says
Speaker 1: over you in the Word of God. That is, he
Speaker 1: calls you a new creation. He calls you the righteousness
Speaker 1: of God in Christ. Tewo Corinthians five twenty one says
Speaker 1: that he calls you the righteousness of God in Christ.
Speaker 1: Now that means that's your new identity. Even when you stumble,
Speaker 1: that's your identity, your true north. When you stumble, the
Speaker 1: true north of that compass is going to bring you
Speaker 1: back to that true identity of who you are. You
Speaker 1: are ordained for righteousness. You're ordained for peace or adained
Speaker 1: for righteousness. You're ordained as one who is justified. This
Speaker 1: is the Bible. The Bible says you're justified. That means
Speaker 1: God sees you in Christ as long as you continue
Speaker 1: to believe. Not as long as you continue to be perfect,
Speaker 1: but as long as you continue to believe. Because it's
Speaker 1: believing that brings perfection. It's not perfection that brings believing,
Speaker 1: it's believing that brings perfection. If you let your perfection
Speaker 1: get in the way. If you're believing that's religion. Now
Speaker 1: you're backwards. It's not going to work. You have to
Speaker 1: keep your believing ahead of your perfection because you're believing
Speaker 1: is leading you into perfection. And God's ordained for you
Speaker 1: to come into perfection. He's ordained for you to come
Speaker 1: into restoration and the restoration that He's ordained for you
Speaker 1: the image of Jesus. You are a Christian. That means
Speaker 1: you bear the image of Jesus. Christopher Columbus Christopher. That
Speaker 1: means image bearer, light bearer. You're a Christian. You're a
Speaker 1: light bearer. You're a one who bears the image of illumination,
Speaker 1: the light from above. That's your identity. That's who you are.
Speaker 1: Even when you fall short, that's your identity, even when
Speaker 1: you fail, that's your identity. That's your true north. And
Speaker 1: so that's what we meditate on. And so I'm thinking,
Speaker 1: how do we renew our mind right? How do we grow?
Speaker 1: How do we continue to grow in who He's called
Speaker 1: us to be so that we're actually renewing our mind
Speaker 1: Because Romans twelve one and two, I think we might
Speaker 1: have it.
Speaker 2: I don't know if we have it.
Speaker 1: But Romans twelve one and two says that transformation, true transformation,
Speaker 1: comes in the manifestation of our life. Now the moment
Speaker 1: you give your life to the Lord, if you died,
Speaker 1: that moment like the thief on the cross being hung
Speaker 1: beside the Lord who believed on the Lord. If you gave,
Speaker 1: if you lost your life, that moment that you believe
Speaker 1: upon him, you're going to heaven. But God wants you
Speaker 1: to continue living. You're not on that cross right beside Jesus.
Speaker 1: He's ordained for you to walk out your days and
Speaker 1: have fullness of life. And so for you and I,
Speaker 1: it's not just about going to heaven. It's about experiencing
Speaker 1: Heaven on earth. It's about manifesting His glory. It's about
Speaker 1: living like him, it's about it's about restoration. And so
Speaker 1: for those things, then we're called to renew our mind.
Speaker 1: That's the transformation he's talking about in Romans chapter twelve,
Speaker 1: verse one and two. He's not talking about a metamorphos
Speaker 1: or a transformation that takes you to heaven. It's not
Speaker 1: a heaven transformation. He's talking about when we present ourselves
Speaker 1: under God as a living sacrifice wholly unacceptable, which are
Speaker 1: reasonable active worship. Then we also are no longer conformed
Speaker 1: to this world and the world's way of thinking, but
Speaker 1: we are transformed into the likeness of His image by
Speaker 1: renewing our mind to his way of thinking. This is
Speaker 1: not exhaustive by any means, but this is a little
Speaker 1: taste of his way of thinking. And the reason I
Speaker 1: put it together is the way I did is I
Speaker 1: want you thinking about His way of thinking, over the
Speaker 1: things that pertain to you, your desires and your needs.
Speaker 1: Your desires and your needs because woven in your life
Speaker 1: into your heart before the Fall, God wove within you
Speaker 1: desires and needs. Now the Fall came along and perverted
Speaker 1: your desires and needs and iniquity. Through the fall deposited
Speaker 1: seeds of iniquity within you, so that the method, the
Speaker 1: method for us to go after the fulfillment of the
Speaker 1: trees of our heart garden, the trees of life would
Speaker 1: become perverted. But here I've outlined the tin trees of
Speaker 1: our heart garden. And again this isn't exhaustive. It's just
Speaker 1: a great overview for us, and it helps us move
Speaker 1: from how do I renew my mind? To understanding. Oh,
Speaker 1: here's some topics I can focus on. Here are the
Speaker 1: things that pertain to me. And God has scriptures over
Speaker 1: these areas of life. So if I give myself to
Speaker 1: these scriptures, if I give myself to His word, if
Speaker 1: I listen to His word, then there'll be a quickening
Speaker 1: that comes in my life so that I can exercise faith.
Speaker 1: I can partner with Him because faith comes by hearing
Speaker 1: the word of God Romans ten seventeen. Faith faith God word, faith,
Speaker 1: faith to believe God for something comes as we receive
Speaker 1: the Word, as we welcome the word, and as the
Speaker 1: Word is illuminated to us. So here's areas of our lives.
Speaker 1: Number one, and this is not in order, but my
Speaker 1: health and nutrition and my well being number two, my
Speaker 1: finances in my household prosperity number three, My vocation and
Speaker 1: purpose number four, my family relationships number five, my sexual
Speaker 1: fulfillment number six, my wisdom and personal maturity number seven,
Speaker 1: my religion and spiritual fulfillment number eight, my ministry and
Speaker 1: serving of others number nine, my rest and recreation, and
Speaker 1: number ten my influence in culture and my legacy. Now,
Speaker 1: if you think about it, every one of those things
Speaker 1: concern you. They've concerned you all of your life. And
Speaker 1: if you think about it, this is what the temptations
Speaker 1: were focused around. The temptations of Jesus. We're showing three
Speaker 1: temptations in Luke four and in Matthew four we're shown
Speaker 1: three temptations. But the Bible says he was tempted in
Speaker 1: every way as we are. He was tempted in every
Speaker 1: way as we are. We're only given three of those
Speaker 1: that are in that particular passage, but it says at
Speaker 1: the end of the temptations that say Sathan departed until
Speaker 1: a more opportune time, temptations continued, and these temptations were
Speaker 1: the enemy coming after those trees of the soul, of
Speaker 1: the second atom, the last atom, Jesus to draw him away,
Speaker 1: to seduce him, to pull him into sin or iniquity.
Speaker 1: And the blessing for him is he didn't have in
Speaker 1: dwelling iniquity in his heart because he wasn't born of man,
Speaker 1: he wasn't born of the lineage of Atom. He was
Speaker 1: a fresh start. So Satan was on the outside bringing force.
Speaker 1: Satan was on the outside with words of seduction and temptation,
Speaker 1: but he wasn't on the inside. We have a little
Speaker 1: bit of a disadvantage because over a year. This is
Speaker 1: why we need Jesus, by the way, why we need
Speaker 1: to be baptized in water, why we need to put
Speaker 1: the old person to death, because over here we have
Speaker 1: the witness of uncleanness within us, and the witness of uncleanness,
Speaker 1: these seeds of iniquity, they talk to us. It's how
Speaker 1: the enemy accesses our heart, and these seeds of iniquity.
Speaker 1: They'll say, Oh, the way for you to increase in
Speaker 1: your financial well being is just act very prideful, act
Speaker 1: like you've got it all together, and that'll be fine.
Speaker 1: Even if you don't. Just act like you do, or
Speaker 1: what you need to do is you need to just
Speaker 1: falsify some of the information on that test. Maybe just
Speaker 1: be a little bit deceptive, not a lot, but just
Speaker 1: a little bit deceptive. Like when you sell that car
Speaker 1: and it doesn't really go into fourth gear, don't tell them,
Speaker 1: just let them figure that out. Don't really be honest
Speaker 1: about that. That could cost you eight hundred dollars or
Speaker 1: a thousand dollars. Why don't you just withhold that information
Speaker 1: and that way you can prosper and increase that tree
Speaker 1: of financial well being in your life. That's a partnership
Speaker 1: with deception. That's a partnership with a deceiving spirit, and
Speaker 1: we're attracted to that. So we have these desires within us.
Speaker 1: This is actually a desire. This is actually a desire.
Speaker 1: There's a desire within us before the cross, before baptism,
Speaker 1: before deliverance, there's a desire within us to deceive to prosper,
Speaker 1: or deceive to get what we need in marriage, or
Speaker 1: in sexuality, or in any of these trees. But when
Speaker 1: we've been baptized in water, we've put that old person
Speaker 1: to death. We have put that old person who was
Speaker 1: born in the lineage of Adam, in the likeness of Adam,
Speaker 1: with all those seeds of iniquity that are trying to
Speaker 1: talk to us on the inside and they're trying to
Speaker 1: partner with the demonic realm. We've put that person to death,
Speaker 1: and we've agreed we don't have to listen anymore. Anybody
Speaker 1: in the room doesn't have to listen anymore. We don't
Speaker 1: have to listen anymore. So, and this is part of
Speaker 1: why we experience deliverance right. Part of why we experience
Speaker 1: deliverance is I want these seeds of iniquity, which are
Speaker 1: really the testimony of the demonic realm within me. I
Speaker 1: really want them gone. I'd like to get rid of those.
Speaker 1: I really don't want to be tempted every day to lie.
Speaker 1: I don't want to be tempted every day to cheat.
Speaker 1: I don't want to be pulled into worthlesseners. I don't
Speaker 1: want to be pulled into judgment over others. I don't
Speaker 1: want to feel rejection or be rejecting. I don't want
Speaker 1: a bunch of fear operating in my life and be
Speaker 1: tempted all the time to be afraid of everything. I
Speaker 1: want dread and fear out of my mind. I want
Speaker 1: it out of my heart. I want a renewed heart.
Speaker 1: I want to renewed mine. So I want this stuff gone.
Speaker 1: But when it's gone, here's what Jesus said in Matthew
Speaker 1: twelve that when these influences are gone, I need to
Speaker 1: renew my mind. He said in Matthew twelve that when
Speaker 1: these influences are gone, I need to fill my house
Speaker 1: with something better. I need to fill my house with
Speaker 1: superior words. I need to fill my house with the
Speaker 1: testimony of Holy Spirit, who loves me and who's testifying
Speaker 1: of God's goodness on the inside of me.
Speaker 2: And that's part of why we have this right.
Speaker 1: Here, is because we know these areas of life are
Speaker 1: important to every one of us. And here's what happens
Speaker 1: if we don't fill our heart with the testimony of
Speaker 1: something better. What color should we call the word of God.
Speaker 1: Let's call the Word of God green. Forego if we
Speaker 1: don't start filling our heart, oh, because green is lush,
Speaker 1: and green bears good fruit, and green sprouts up and
Speaker 1: springs up. And this is the Holy Spirit partnering with
Speaker 1: the Word of God. And so we are now filling
Speaker 1: our heart garden with the Word of God. The logos
Speaker 1: and the rama. You got to dive into a bunch
Speaker 1: of logos they written so that you can have Holy
Speaker 1: Spirit bringing you more and more rama. And he quickens
Speaker 1: the logos and makes it rama and makes it alive.
Speaker 1: And so you're getting all this word within you. And
Speaker 1: here's what David said in Psul one nineteen. He said,
Speaker 1: your word I have hidden in my heart so that
Speaker 1: I will not sin against you. Your word I have
Speaker 1: hidden in my heart so I will not remember what
Speaker 1: sin is. Sin is to pull back the bow, to
Speaker 1: shoot the arrow, and to miss the bull's eye. That's
Speaker 1: what sin is sin. The understanding of sin in a
Speaker 1: word picture is to fire the arrow and to miss
Speaker 1: the bull's eye. I put the word in my heart
Speaker 1: so that I will not miss the bull's eye. I
Speaker 1: put the word in my heart so that I will
Speaker 1: be fruitful. I put the word in my heart because
Speaker 1: if I don't have the word in my heart, what's
Speaker 1: going to happen is automatically, I'm going to default into
Speaker 1: the unclean realm.
Speaker 2: Automatically.
Speaker 1: Automatically, the reflex of my life is over here. And
Speaker 1: if I don't have the word of God stored up
Speaker 1: in me right. I remember, I got my real estate
Speaker 1: license when I was eighteen years old. I was in
Speaker 1: love with real estate and maybe one of the youngest
Speaker 1: real tours in Oregon at that time, and I was
Speaker 1: in college going to college. Got my real estate license
Speaker 1: past the exam. Took me a couple times to pass
Speaker 1: the exam. We went to the Memorial Colisseum in Portland,
Speaker 1: Oregon for the test, and I was passionate about real estate.
Speaker 1: But here's the crazy thing. Back in those days, interest
Speaker 1: rates were like fifteen to eighteen percent, and so even
Speaker 1: though I had a passion about this, I had a
Speaker 1: hope about my financial well being.
Speaker 2: I had a desire. I had a hope. I had
Speaker 2: a need, and.
Speaker 1: That need, that need, that need is a desire. These
Speaker 1: are desires. This is how the enemy works. He comes
Speaker 1: to us based on desire. That's James Chapter one. James
Speaker 1: Chapter one says that we are drawn away by our
Speaker 1: own desire.
Speaker 2: We're drawn away by our.
Speaker 1: Own Satan uses our desire as a tool to draw
Speaker 1: us away. And so here's a desire over here from
Speaker 1: seeds of iniquity. But then we got this desire over here,
Speaker 1: these desires. I want my trees to flourish. I want
Speaker 1: to be fulfilled in marriage. I want to be fulfilled sexually.
Speaker 1: I want to be fulfilled in finances. I want to
Speaker 1: be fulfilled in my purpose, my vocation. I want to
Speaker 1: be fulfilled in legacy and influence. I've got these desires right.
Speaker 1: Interest rates are fifteen percent. So in my generation, in
Speaker 1: that day, there was a lot of despair. There was
Speaker 1: a lot of despair. And the thing that brought me
Speaker 1: hope and brought me faith was the word of.
Speaker 2: The Lord over my life, the word of the Lord
Speaker 2: of your life.
Speaker 1: And understanding what God says about his heart toward us
Speaker 1: who are in Christ Jesus will trump economic peril. You
Speaker 1: are a participant in the riches of Christ Jesus. When
Speaker 1: you understand that you have inherited the promises of God,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter what the economy is doing. You partner
Speaker 1: out of a higher economy. So it's that word in
Speaker 1: me that moved me and motivated me to continue and hope,
Speaker 1: continue in faith and see God work in my life
Speaker 1: regardless of interest rates. You see how a renewed mind
Speaker 1: will also shift the way you talk. Like right now,
Speaker 1: interest rates have been a whopping six and a half
Speaker 1: or seven percent. It's paralyzed most people. Most people think
Speaker 1: they can't prosper because they're used to three percent and
Speaker 1: three point two five and so they're thinking, I really
Speaker 1: can't prosper because we had these low interest rates for
Speaker 1: so long, And so I really can't prosper because now
Speaker 1: the interest rates are over here. Now when I talk
Speaker 1: that way, I'm failing to walk with a renewed mind,
Speaker 1: and I'm actually making the interest rate bigger than God,
Speaker 1: bigger than scripture, bigger than the rama, bigger than the logos.
Speaker 1: I'm not renewing my mind and if I don't renew
Speaker 1: my mind, I come back over and I start partnering
Speaker 1: with this because the economy is so bad. Maybe I'm depressed. Wow,
Speaker 1: God just can't move in these terrible times. This is
Speaker 1: a This is a terrible, terrible time. This is like
Speaker 1: the Great Depression. God can't move. Do you know what
Speaker 1: people prospered during the Great Depression? Somebody prospered during the
Speaker 1: Great Depression, but not the depressed. The depressed didn't prosper
Speaker 1: during the Great Depression. The depressed were hiding somewhere like
Speaker 1: Gideon treading out a few pieces of grain. So I
Speaker 1: remember this one too, this one here, Uh that that
Speaker 1: thing that was on the platform just a few minutes ago.
Speaker 1: I was the quee, not the bald one, the quin.
Speaker 2: I remember growing up, I was.
Speaker 1: Pretty aggressive with with dating, so I had I had
Speaker 1: no shot whatsoever. So I had lots of girlfriends. And
Speaker 1: then that's not a brag on me. It's probably dumb.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I had lots of girlfriends. But I had
Speaker 1: no fear even though I was I wasn't cool. I
Speaker 1: just had no fear. So but somewhere along the line,
Speaker 1: you know, I had one that I really cared about,
Speaker 1: a bunch. I thought this was going to be my wife,
Speaker 1: and and that fell apart in a very terrible way,
Speaker 1: like a huge, heart breaking way.
Speaker 2: It fell apart.
Speaker 1: And so, you know, back in those days, you're gonna
Speaker 1: laugh over this one. You know, I was writing songs
Speaker 1: and some of those were country western songs, and so
Speaker 1: some of them were, you know, the gloom and despair songs. Right,
Speaker 1: how long would I have remained in gloom and despair?
Speaker 1: You know, I don't know, I just you know, those
Speaker 1: were just rendezvous of you know, unrenewed thinking.
Speaker 2: God, you know, where's the one for me? Any ever
Speaker 2: had those thoughts?
Speaker 1: I don't know, Come on, somebody, I bet somebody in
Speaker 1: this building did. So fast forward, fast forward to Northwest
Speaker 1: University and I'm driving a school bus and there was
Speaker 1: this there was this other school bus driver who he
Speaker 1: would bring this girl with him about, I don't know,
Speaker 1: once a month or every so often, and she would
Speaker 1: ride with them, and we all kind of knew that
Speaker 1: was his girlfriend. And they dated a long time, and
Speaker 1: you know, I just you know, I never paid any
Speaker 1: attention to her. And he was a fellow student at
Speaker 1: Northwest University and we drove school bus together in Bellevue,
Speaker 1: and and so there was a day when he, you know,
Speaker 1: he came several times to drive school bus and there
Speaker 1: was no girl. And so, I mean, I didn't think
Speaker 1: that much of it, but I did ask some of
Speaker 1: you know, my buddies and various ones, like where's the chick?
Speaker 1: Are they dating anymore? And they said, no, they're not dating.
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, that's weird, that's crazy, huh. I thought
Speaker 1: they were going to get married. And so I didn't
Speaker 1: even know her name. I asked some guys, you know,
Speaker 1: what's her name?
Speaker 2: What was her name?
Speaker 1: And then I kind of remembered vaguely that she was
Speaker 1: kind of cute, moderately moderately cute. So I went back
Speaker 1: to my apartment and I opened up my Northwest University annual, right,
Speaker 1: and I didn't know if she was even going to
Speaker 1: be in the annual, but somebody had said she might
Speaker 1: be in the annual. And I couldn't even remember what
Speaker 1: she looked like, and I didn't know her name. I
Speaker 1: had this people what her name was. But when I
Speaker 1: got to the RS Joel Robertson, when I got to
Speaker 1: the OURS, I'm going through the RS, right, and I'm
Speaker 1: going through the RS and I'm praying, I'm praying, I'm
Speaker 1: believing God for a wife. Like I'm twenty three years old.
Speaker 1: This other thing died when I was twenty and you know,
Speaker 1: nothing has worked right. And I would do the whole
Speaker 1: list thing too. I'd do the list. You know, guys
Speaker 1: told me you just need to make a list. You
Speaker 1: get about ten things, put those ten things on a list,
Speaker 1: and then you have a few dates and then you
Speaker 1: just you know, measure up. You know, see if they
Speaker 1: measure up. Like you know, if you need a pastor's wife,
Speaker 1: you know, you make sure they play the piano. So
Speaker 1: during the date, you know, during the date, you know, yeah,
Speaker 1: I get a couple of dates and then you kind
Speaker 1: of work around to that. So what kind of talents
Speaker 1: and skills do you what do you enjoy? And you know,
Speaker 1: do you play the piano? Now, okay, it's not that one, right,
Speaker 1: So you you you guys know all of you have
Speaker 1: done this kind of thing. You got your list, you
Speaker 1: get your spousal list, right, So and I would, you know,
Speaker 1: I would date these people. And actually some of the
Speaker 1: people I was dating, they actually checked every box on
Speaker 1: the list.
Speaker 2: But it didn't feel right right.
Speaker 1: So I'm taking my finger in the Annual to the
Speaker 1: ours Joel Robertson. That's her name in the world. So
Speaker 1: I get to the ours and I get to and
Speaker 1: when I get to her picture in the Annual, I
Speaker 1: hear the voice of the Lord and he says, that's
Speaker 1: your wife. Well, the word of the Lord can be scary,
Speaker 1: and the word the Lord gives faith. There's always faith
Speaker 1: attached to the word of the Lord. Even though it's scary,
Speaker 1: there's faith attached to the word of the Lord. So
Speaker 1: immediately I'm like, well, that's my wife. I'm going on
Speaker 1: a date, and you know, I got no shyness about dates.
Speaker 1: So but that word, well, here's what I want to
Speaker 1: tell you. That word not only drew me to her,
Speaker 1: but that word sustained at birth our relationship. It sustained
Speaker 1: our relationship. It has kept our relationship a lot. It's
Speaker 1: kept my love for her alive forty two years. The
Speaker 1: word of God doesn't wear out. The word of God
Speaker 1: doesn't fall apart. The word of God doesn't lack power.
Speaker 1: The Word of God, the Word of God is active
Speaker 1: and alive. It's sharp, it's quick, it's good. The word
Speaker 1: of God works.
Speaker 2: And when we.
Speaker 1: Don't have a word, like what would I have done
Speaker 1: without a word? What stupid stuff would I have done?
Speaker 1: How many more dates would I have gone on? Would've
Speaker 1: gone into some kind of depression? What I've gone into?
Speaker 1: Some kind of self loathing or worthlessness? I mean, what
Speaker 1: would have happened with me if if I didn't have
Speaker 1: a word. But that word was the power to not
Speaker 1: only direct me, but it was the power to sustain
Speaker 1: me forty two years of undying love. It's kept me
Speaker 1: from immorality, It's kept me from another woman, it's kept
Speaker 1: me from any other attention. It's kept my eyes focused
Speaker 1: on one little lady all these years. One word, one word.
Speaker 1: And this is what we're trying to say. Is it
Speaker 1: concerning the trees of our lives? God wants to feed
Speaker 1: you with his word. He wants you defined and discover
Speaker 1: that there are words for every single tree. There are
Speaker 1: words over your marriage, There are words over your ministry,
Speaker 1: There are words over your purpose, There are words over
Speaker 1: your influence. There are words over your legacy. And the
Speaker 1: word of God is fuel for you. The word of
Speaker 1: God is fire for you. The word of God is
Speaker 1: life for you. And when you find when you find
Speaker 1: him in the word, and he finds you with his word.
Speaker 1: You don't go back. You don't go back. It's his
Speaker 1: word that sustains you from going back. You you don't
Speaker 1: need to go back because you have a better and
Speaker 1: a higher and a superior word. Let's stand this morning.
Speaker 1: I'm going to ask the Destiny team to come. Would
Speaker 1: you come and just prepare to minister to us one
Speaker 1: more time this morning. I'm thinking, if you've got a
Speaker 1: tree that is despairing, the Bible says Proverbs certain teen twelve,
Speaker 1: hope deferred makes the heart sick, but hope fulfilled. It's
Speaker 1: a tree of life. When your hopes are fulfilled, it's
Speaker 1: a tree of life. And maybe you've got despairing. Maybe
Speaker 1: you've got discouragement, Maybe you've got fear. Maybe you've been
Speaker 1: partnering with the wrong thing. Holy Spirit wants to encourage
Speaker 1: you this morning. Holy Spirit wants to encourage you this morning.
Speaker 1: There's fresh life for you. Let's pray. Can we do it?
Speaker 1: We're gonna pray. I'm gonna invite you to come and
Speaker 1: be ministered to, and then we're gonna worship. As we
Speaker 1: close this morning, let's say this together, Father, I welcome
Speaker 1: a renewed mind. I welcome your superior words. I welcome
Speaker 1: words from above. I welcome you taking the logos, the
Speaker 1: written word, and making it alive. I welcome your voice
Speaker 1: over my life, over every tree, every tree of significance,
Speaker 1: every tree of desire, every tree of need. I thank
Speaker 1: you Father, that these needs and desires, that you have
Speaker 1: them in your heart concerning me. That you are redeeming
Speaker 1: my trees. You are restoring my trees, You are rebuilding
Speaker 1: my trees, and you were giving me the leads that
Speaker 1: bring life to every single area of my life. Father,
Speaker 1: I give you the praise for it today in Jesus' name. Amen, Amen, Amen,
Speaker 1: thank you Church. Let's worship today