WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:04.799 The further away you get from God, the more trouble 2 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:07.960 you're going to have in your life, the more trials, 3 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:11.960 the more difficulties, the more stress, the more things are 4 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:15.039 going to go wrong because you're not cooperating with your creator. 5 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:18.519 You're not following God's plan for your life. And the 6 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:22.719 Bible says, the way of the unrighteous is rough, it's 7 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:26.359 full of thorns, it's difficult, it's a rocky, rocky road. 8 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:29.519 The further I get away from God, the more trouble 9 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.280 I'm going to have in my life. On the other hand, 10 00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:37.640 the closer I get to God, the more my life 11 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:40.560 is going to be transformed. And we can see this 12 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:45.000 all through the scripture that Paul, when he finally met 13 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:49.320 Jesus Christ face to face, he was radically transformed from 14 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:53.359 a literally a terrorist, he was a religious terrorist, into 15 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:56.359 the apostle of Love, who wrote the most beautiful poem 16 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:01.840 on love ever written or penned by men. Was transformed 17 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:05.840 from a depressed person into a courageous person when he 18 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:11.239 met God. When he got close to God, Moses got 19 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.959 so close to God the Bible says he was even 20 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:19.079 transformed in his appearance, and people had to even look 21 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.519 away from him. He almost like glowed, and he got 22 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:25.400 so close to God that God is light, and in 23 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:27.840 him is there are no darkness at all. He was 24 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:32.799 literally physically transformed. Now, we all want to be close 25 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:35.400 to God, but the Bible says, all we, like sheep, 26 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.319 have gone astray. We've each turned into our own way. 27 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.799 In other words, like sheep, we tend to wander. You 28 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.599 don't have to teach sheep to drift off. They just 29 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:48.640 do it naturally by their very nature. They just kind 30 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:50.920 of wander off when the shepherd has to bring him 31 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:54.239 back in, and they'll walk off a cliff, and you know, 32 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:58.879 sheep aren't really that bright an animal. They'll walk into 33 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:02.799 a den of wolves, and in all kinds of difficult 34 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:06.280 and dangerous situations. Sheep tend to wander in. The Bible 35 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.759 says all we, you and me, like sheep, tend to 36 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:13.759 go astray. We don't tend to stay close to God. 37 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:17.120 We tend to wander off. How do you get close 38 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:20.680 to God? How do you stay close to God? And 39 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.159 if you've fallen away from God, how do you get 40 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:27.240 back in that close relationship to God? Some of you 41 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:28.800 you can point to a time in your life and 42 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:31.439 you go man. I remember when I was really I 43 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:34.599 felt God's presence. I was close to God. I could 44 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:38.599 sense his friendship, I could sense the fellowship, and there 45 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:42.000 was a joy in my life. But I've lost that. 46 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:44.919 You know. It's kind of it's like you let the 47 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:48.159 air out of a balloon. How do I get back 48 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:51.240 to God if I've kind of wandered away, if kind 49 00:02:51.240 --> 00:02:55.560 of lost the spark, Because if I'm not close to God, 50 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:59.280 I don't have the power to make all the other transformations. Fortunately, 51 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:01.800 we have a story in the Bible on how to 52 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:04.680 get back to God and how to get close to 53 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:08.159 the Father. It's one of the most famous stories in 54 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:10.840 the entire Bible. Jesus told that it's the story of 55 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:14.599 the prodigal Son, or sometimes it's called the story of 56 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.000 the Loving Father, because it's really more about the Father 57 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:21.439 than is about the son. And that story is in Luke, 58 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.759 chapter fifteen. Let me read you the story, and then 59 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:27.719 we'll pull some principles out of it on how to 60 00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:32.960 transform your life spiritually Luke fifteen, verses eleven to twenty four. 61 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:41.159 Jesus told this story. A man had two sons, and 62 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:43.879 the younger son told his father, give me my share 63 00:03:43.879 --> 00:03:46.680 of your estate now, instead of waiting till you die. 64 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:50.719 So the father divided his wealth between his two sons. 65 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:53.120 A few days later, the younger son packed all his 66 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:56.879 belongings and left to live in a distant land. See, 67 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.400 he's already getting away from the father. He's getting distant 68 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:03.159 from the father. And he got as far away, basically 69 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:04.680 as far away from the father as he could. He 70 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:07.520 goes to a distant land, and there he squandered the 71 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:12.280 gift he'd been given. And we've all done that, and 72 00:04:12.360 --> 00:04:14.639 he wasted his life and money on wild parties and 73 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:18.680 reckless living. Now, about the time all his money ran out, 74 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:20.959 a se fear of famine hit the land, and he 75 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:25.120 began to starve because he was left with nothing. Now 76 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:28.319 he's getting hungry now. The only job he could find 77 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:31.759 was feeding swine on a farm, and he became so desperate, 78 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:35.839 so hungry that even the pig slop he was feeding 79 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:39.319 the swine looked good to him. That no one would 80 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:43.639 give him anything for his hunger. When he finally came 81 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:47.360 to a census, he said to himself, this is crazy. 82 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:53.319 At my father's home, even the lowest paid workers eat well. Well, 83 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:58.040 I'm over here far away dying of hunger. So he goes, 84 00:04:58.079 --> 00:04:59.720 I know what I'm gonna do. He says, I'm going 85 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:02.360 to re turn home to my father and humbly say, father, 86 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:08.360 i have sinned both against God and you, and I'm 87 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:12.279 not worthy to be a part of the family or 88 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:16.920 called your son. But please just make me one of 89 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:18.959 your servants who works for you. So I'm not even 90 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.160 gonna be a family member. Just hire me out as 91 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:23.600 a servant. Make me one of your servants who works 92 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:26.639 for you. And with that attitude, he headed back home 93 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:30.560 to his father. But while the son was still a 94 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:33.519 long distance away, he hadn't got all the way back home. 95 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:39.680 His father saw him coming, and filled with love and compassion, 96 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:42.519 he ran out to his son, threw his arms around 97 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:46.160 him and kissed him. The son said, no, he's got 98 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:49.040 his prepared speech. Father, I have sinned against both God 99 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:52.800 and you, and I'm no longer worthy of being called 100 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:58.639 your son. But the father said to his servants, quick, 101 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.199 bring me the fine robe in our house and put 102 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:05.560 it on him. Then get my signet ring for his finger, 103 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.639 and shoes for his feet, and then roast the calf 104 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:13.439 that we've been fattening up. We're gonna celebrate with a 105 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:16.959 feast of eating and drinking. For this child of mine 106 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.439 was distant and dead, but now he's back and alive. 107 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:25.839 He was lost, but now he's found. And so the 108 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:31.160 party began. Don't you love that story? Don't you just 109 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:33.399 love that? Yeah, you can clap for the story. That's 110 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:39.399 for Jesus. That's an incredible, incredible story, and it tells 111 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:42.199 the story of how every one of us tends to 112 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:46.439 wander away from our creator, wander away from the father 113 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.879 who made us, wander away from the God who loves us. 114 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:56.600 This kid starts off staying, God, our dad or father, 115 00:06:56.920 --> 00:06:59.439 I want you to give me much rightfully mine. It's 116 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:03.000 all about me, give me my. It's a very self 117 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.519 centered life. And that's where we usually start in life. 118 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:11.480 Give me my, God, give me my. I want mine now. 119 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.199 And we're by the way. We're in a hurry, and 120 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:16.600 I want it and I want it now, and if 121 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.920 I can't pay for it, I'll put it on credit. 122 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:23.680 And so we're always in a hurry. Give me mine now. 123 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:27.079 And so he takes off and he packs up, and 124 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:32.759 he heads off for Sunset Strip in Jerusalem, and there 125 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.920 he wastes his money and his time and his energy 126 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:42.480 on wine, women and song, particularly women, and he really 127 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:45.319 gets mets up and he hits the skids and he 128 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:49.079 becomes homeless. And then on top of that, the nation 129 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:52.839 goes into a national recession because there's a famine in 130 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:55.639 the land, and now nobody has anything to eat, So 131 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:59.160 nobody's gonna give a panhandler or a street guiding to 132 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:02.000 eat because they don't have anything to eat. And then 133 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:05.519 he can't even find a job. Things go from bad 134 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:09.240 to worse. Finally finds a farm where he hires himself 135 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:13.240 out to do the worst job on the farm, slopping pigs. 136 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.240 Now for a jew that's not a good thing. That's 137 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:22.120 not kosher, because you're not even supposed to touch a pig. Okay, 138 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:23.959 you're not even supposed to have anything to do with pork. 139 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:27.560 He gets the worst job a Jewish kid could get, 140 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:32.519 slopping pigs, and he gets so hungry and he gets 141 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:38.919 so desperate. He's going, man, this stuff looks good. You 142 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:44.120 gotta be serious, seriously desperate if you think pigslop looks good. 143 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:47.039 And it says nobody gave him anything. And then it 144 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:49.639 says he wises up, and it says he came to 145 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:55.639 his senses and he goes, shoot the servants, the poorest 146 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:59.120 paid guys in my dad's employment eat better than this. 147 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:03.879 What in the world am I doing? Now? He knows 148 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:06.559 he doesn't deserve his father's love. He knows he doesn't 149 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.120 deserve he's just wasted half of his dad's inheritance, all 150 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:12.799 that his dad's burned his entire life working to earn. 151 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:15.120 And he goes, I know what I'm gonna do. I'm 152 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:17.720 not gonna go home and ask God to or asking 153 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:19.480 the father to just accept me back in the family. 154 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:22.720 I'm just go home and say, look, hire me. I'd 155 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.840 rather be a servant in your house than be over 156 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:29.879 here in a distant country, starving to death. And you 157 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.000 know the rest of the story. As we saw the 158 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:37.879 father's response. Now from this story we gain the four 159 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.799 things you need to do to get back to God. Now, 160 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.440 I don't know where you are today. You may be 161 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:47.720 way way way way way way way way way far away. 162 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:50.000 Maybe I haven't been in church in years and years 163 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:53.120 and years, or maybe you are a little bit closer, 164 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.080 or maybe you're a little bit closer, but maybe even 165 00:09:57.200 --> 00:09:59.840 you've just been distant for a week and you've had 166 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.039 one of those weeks and you just thought, you know, 167 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:06.200 I really don't feel God's presence in my life, and 168 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.559 yet we all long to be close to God. How 169 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:13.080 do I get back to him? You do these four things. 170 00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:18.200 This is the pathway back to spiritual transformation. Number one. 171 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:22.720 I get fed up. That's the first. I get fed 172 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.600 up with my life. I get fed up with my circumstance. 173 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:29.320 I get fed up with the way I've been living. 174 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:32.000 I just get sick and tired of being sick and tired. 175 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:34.559 I am not gonna live this way anymore. I am 176 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:43.000 too stressed out, I'm too lonely, I'm too depressed. I 177 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:48.240 am overworked and busy, and I don't even like myself. 178 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:51.360 Why would anybody like me? I don't even like me. 179 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:54.759 I don't like the life I'm living right now. Now. 180 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.399 Let me just say this, Nothing is going to happen 181 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:00.919 in your life until first you get disad with the 182 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.879 way you are. Nothing's going to happen in your life 183 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:10.159 until you decide I don't like this. I'm tired of 184 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:14.320 being stressed out all the time. I'm tired of being 185 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:18.639 frustrated all the time. I'm tired of being overworked all 186 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:23.360 the time. I'm tired of feeling distant from God. You 187 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:28.559 gotta get desperate, you gotta get hungry, you've got to 188 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:35.320 get anxious for change. Nothing happens until you get fed up. 189 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:40.279 In that passage in scripture, it says this, he wasted 190 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:45.799 it all, he had nothing left. He got desperate and hungry, 191 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:51.440 and he finally came to his senses. And that's where 192 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:56.720 transformation starts. Are you there yet? If not, it's okay, 193 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:01.840 God I'll just leave. Let you stay there, and he'll 194 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:05.320 allow a little rain in your life. And if that 195 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:08.440 doesn't work, he'll allow a little bit more in your life. 196 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:12.440 And if that doesn't work, he'll send the storm. Why 197 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:15.159 because God loves you just the way you are, But 198 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:18.879 He loves you too much to let you stay that way. 199 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:26.679 He will not let you waste your life. And when God, 200 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:28.840 you know, wants to come and get our attention, he comes, 201 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:32.559 and he he knocks on the door, And if we ignored, 202 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:36.360 he just knocks on the door again. And then if 203 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:41.360 he we ignored, he knocks on the door again, and 204 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:48.000 if we ignored, he blows the door down. Some of 205 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:51.879 you have had the door blown down in your life. 206 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:56.000 And you've lost your job, or you lost your marriage, 207 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:59.960 or you lost a friend, you lost something. Why Because 208 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.360 God does everything he does in your life out of love. 209 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.039 He does not want you to miss him, and he 210 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:10.559 does not want you to waste your life. You know 211 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:12.480 the old phrase, you can lead a horse to water, 212 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:14.360 but you can't make him drink, but you can salt 213 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:19.559 his oats make him thirsty. God often makes you thirsty 214 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:23.279 by putting salt in your oats. And when you start saying, 215 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:26.679 I'm just so unsatisfied with my life, I just don't 216 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.600 like the way I'm living. I don't like this. Hello, 217 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:36.200 that's God knocking on your door. The first step in 218 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:40.960 transformation is for you to get disgusted, to get discontent, 219 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:45.159 to get fed up with the way you're living. Jeremiah 220 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:49.840 twenty nine, verse thirteen says this. God says, you will 221 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:54.000 find me when you get serious about finding me, and 222 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:58.559 you want it more than anything else. See, God's not 223 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:00.480 gonna reveal himself if I just kind of want to 224 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:01.879 do it on the casual it's kind of a part 225 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:04.679 time hobby. I gotta get fed up with the way 226 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:08.000 I'm living. Say, there's gotta be more to life than this. 227 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:10.399 There's got to be a better way to live than this. 228 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:13.200 There's got to be asaner way to live than this. 229 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:19.720 You get fed up. Second step. You own up first, 230 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:22.679 I get fed up. Second, I own up. I own 231 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:26.679 up to my own sin. I own up to my 232 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:30.720 own sin. That's the second thing that this young man did. 233 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:34.799 He goes, this is nuts, this is nonsense, this is crazy. 234 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.799 I can't maintain this lifestyle I've been living right now. 235 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:43.919 It's just not sustainable. It's not fulfilling, and it's not sustainable. 236 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:48.080 When he came to his senses, and that is you know, 237 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:52.000 he wakes up. You see, to live without God is insane. 238 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:56.519 To live without God does not make sense. To live 239 00:14:56.600 --> 00:15:00.840 without God is not rational. To live without the creator 240 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:05.080 who made you is not logical. It doesn't make sense. 241 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:10.639 When he came to his senses, he said, I have 242 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:15.240 sinned against God and you, and nothing's going to happen 243 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:18.120 till you come to stage two. And stage two is 244 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:20.720 you go all right, I just need to own up here. 245 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:23.320 I need to face up to the fact that I 246 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:26.799 have been not living God's way. I've been living my way. 247 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.799 I've been doing it my way. I've been doing it 248 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:32.360 the way I think is best. I've been doing it 249 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:34.519 the way that protects all my fears. I've been doing 250 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:36.720 it the way that tries to control everything around me. 251 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:38.840 Even though I know I can't control it, I'm still 252 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:41.720 trying to control it all. And I'm getting tired of 253 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:45.559 holding onto all of the controls. I'm about ready to 254 00:15:45.559 --> 00:15:50.600 resign as general manager of the universe because I've noticed 255 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:55.480 it isn't cooperating with me, and so I own up. 256 00:15:56.039 --> 00:15:57.679 And what do I own up to? I own up 257 00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:59.799 to my sin. When he came to his census, he 258 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:05.080 said said, I have sinned now. In Isaiah fifty nine, 259 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:07.559 verse two, there on your outline, the Bible says this, 260 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:12.919 it's your sins. Your sins have separated you from your 261 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:16.600 God and have hidden his face from you. Have you 262 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:19.200 ever prayed and you felt like God was a million 263 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:23.120 miles away? Have you ever prayed and felt like your 264 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:27.200 prayers are bouncing off the ceiling? Have you ever prayed 265 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:30.279 and felt like there's just like this veil between me 266 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.240 and God. I can't see God, I can't hear God, 267 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:35.600 I can't feel God, and I feel like I'm just 268 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.720 talking to myself. Where does that come from? Your sins 269 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:44.399 have separated you from your God and have hidden his 270 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:49.279 face from you. That's where it comes from. It comes 271 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:53.320 from your sin. If you feel far from God, guess 272 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:58.759 who moved. God hasn't moved. God didn't move. God didn't 273 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:02.480 go on vacation. God didn't move away to a foreign country. 274 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:05.440 God has always been there and he has never not 275 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:10.279 been there, and he loves you unconditionally. But if you 276 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:15.319 few far from God, you're the one who moved, and 277 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.119 you moved away by giving your love to something else. 278 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:21.160 When you give anything else your love, there's a word 279 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:25.359 for that in the Bible. It's called an idol. Now 280 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:27.960 we think idols are like these little stone things that 281 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:30.440 people bow down to in words no no, no, no no. 282 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:34.720 An idol can look like your car. An idol can 283 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.200 look like your job. An idle could be a dress, 284 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:42.559 and idle could be the way you look. Anything that 285 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:46.960 you love more than God becomes an idol. The First 286 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.960 and second commandments say, thou shalt have no other gods 287 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:54.079 afore me thou shalt not make any false idols. Money 288 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:57.720 can be an idol, success can be an idol. Golf 289 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:01.240 can be an idol. These are not bad things. They're 290 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:05.200 just not deserving the first place in your life. So 291 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:08.240 I own up to my sin. Your sins have separated 292 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:12.759 you from your God. The fact is this, You're as 293 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:16.279 close to God as you choose to be. You can't 294 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:20.279 really blame anybody else. You can't blame your husband, you 295 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:23.480 can't blame your wife. You can't blame your mom, your dad, 296 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:27.279 the brother. You can't blame the government. That's one thing. 297 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:33.160 You can't blame the government for you spell blame, be lame, 298 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.519 and that's being lame when you blame other people for 299 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:38.480 your spiritual condition. Well, if my husband were a more 300 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:45.160 dedicated believer, really, well if my girlfriend was more on 301 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:49.599 fire for Christ. Really, you are as close to God 302 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:53.039 as you choose to be. And the fact is you 303 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:57.400 haven't been desperate. You haven't been fed up enough to 304 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:02.680 say I am desperate to know God. God. You know, 305 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:08.319 if I were to hold you underwater, you would struggle. 306 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:10.880 But when you really started running out of breath, you 307 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:14.720 would really struggle because you would be desperate for air. 308 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:19.759 When you're that desperate, you don't just get fed up. 309 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:23.160 You own up and he say I've got to know God. 310 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:26.559 You're as close to God as you choose to be. Now, 311 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:29.440 when I own up and I say, God, I've owned it. 312 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:31.359 I've been going my way. I've been I've been doing 313 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:33.000 your way. I've been going my way. I've been doing 314 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:37.519 what I want to do. When I do that, what 315 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:40.960 is God's response to my facing up to my sin? 316 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:43.519 He goes, yeah, Yeah, let me tell you what else 317 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:48.640 you're doing wrong. No, he doesn't rub it in. When 318 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.920 I come and I say, God, I've really you know, 319 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.440 you know what I've done. I'm really sorry. What does 320 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:57.279 he do? Well, look at the next verse. Here's the 321 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.240 prayer you should pray, Psalm fifty one. By the the way, 322 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:04.119 David prayed this prayer after he'd committed adultery and killed 323 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:07.759 a wife's husband. So this is a pretty serious sin here. 324 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:11.240 So I'm fifty one to one to four. David says, this, 325 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:15.920 be merciful to me, Oh God, because of your constant love, 326 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:24.119 because of your great mercy, wipe away my sin, Wash 327 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:31.079 away all my evil, and make me clean. I recognize 328 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:37.440 my faults, and I'm conscious that I have sinned against you. 329 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:40.440 What's your circle of phrase? Recognize my false That means 330 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:44.039 to own up. I face up to my sins. I 331 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:48.160 own up to my sins. He says, I recognize my fault. 332 00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:51.440 And what is God's response when I own up? When 333 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:54.720 I face up? Look at the next verse. The Lord says, 334 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:59.279 no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I 335 00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:04.839 can remove it. I can make you clean as freshly 336 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:09.680 driven snow. Not a beautiful verse. He says, no matter 337 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:11.799 what you've done, no matter who you've done it with, 338 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:15.279 I can I can remove it. This is this is 339 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:20.160 the uh, this is the oxy clean versus the Bible. Okay, 340 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:23.240 he said, man, I can take it out. You know 341 00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:25.440 that's stain. You think, Man, I'm never gonna forget that 342 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:28.880 one bad and that was so bad and it's gonna 343 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:32.720 haunt me the rest of my life. God says, I 344 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.279 can remove that stain. This is the stain remover verse 345 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:41.359 in the Bible. Now, doctors will tell you that every 346 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:43.559 so often you need to go and get a check cup, 347 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:47.000 and you need to have your heart checked every so often, 348 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:49.079 and you had need to have your colon checked every 349 00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:52.559 so often. That's a fun one. Anybody want to give 350 00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:55.880 a testimony on that right now? Okay? Anybody have you 351 00:21:55.920 --> 00:21:59.759 know personal story from this week? Yeah? Okay, Uh, But 352 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:03.920 you have to get regular checkups quiet because if something's 353 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.480 growing wrong in your body, you want to know sooner 354 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:11.880 or not later. Right And the same is true with 355 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:16.039 your your life. If sin starts growing in you, it 356 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:20.240 can become a cancer. It's better to nip it in 357 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:24.039 the bud, like Barney Fiffe would say, before it gets 358 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:29.079 really big. You gotta do this spiritual checkup on a 359 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:33.240 regular base basis. And where do you do it. You 360 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.599 do it in your thought life. It's a checkup from 361 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:42.119 the neck up, and you got to think about your thoughts. 362 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.400 Just like you need a physical checkup regularly, you need 363 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:49.319 a spiritual checkup regularly. Tewod Corinthians five seventeen. Anyone who 364 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:53.480 belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old 365 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:58.200 life is gone, a new life has begun. Now that's 366 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:01.079 a positional statement. What that means is God says you 367 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:03.960 are a new person. Doesn't mean you don't have to 368 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.359 stay the same anymore. You don't have to listen to 369 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:10.279 those old impulses. You now have a new power in 370 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:14.480 your life to make it through. The Bible says this. 371 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:18.799 Test yourselves and make sure you're solid in the faith. 372 00:23:19.799 --> 00:23:25.960 Don't drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourself regular checkups, 373 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.119 and if you fail the test, do something about it. 374 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:31.839 I love that message paraphrase, and that's what we're talking 375 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:36.160 about here. In owning up, the Bible says that before 376 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:39.039 you take the Lord's supper that you should do a 377 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:42.319 spiritual checkup every time. That this is a time to 378 00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:45.559 pause and not to just get fed up, but to 379 00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:48.480 own up and say, Okay, is there anything in my life? 380 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.759 Pal one thirty nine, search me, Oh God, and know 381 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.359 my heart, try me and know my thoughts. See if 382 00:23:54.400 --> 00:23:56.319 there be any wicked way in me, and lead me 383 00:23:56.359 --> 00:23:58.599 in the way everlasting. That'd be a good verse to 384 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.799 memory someone thirty nine, three twenty four. It's a it's 385 00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:07.359 a search light verse. God says this verse in Second Corinthians, 386 00:24:07.400 --> 00:24:11.799 First Corinthians eleven. A man ought to examine himself before 387 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:15.960 he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. So, 388 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.359 in other words, we need to do this second thing. 389 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:22.519 I get fed up, and then I do an own up. 390 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:26.440 I get a face up to what I need to do. Okay, 391 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.839 Now here's the third step to get in back to God, 392 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.240 to getting back in his love and his grace. Not 393 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:35.279 that he doesn't love you. He always loves you no 394 00:24:35.319 --> 00:24:38.799 matter where you are. But to feeling that love. Here's 395 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:41.160 a third thing. I get fed up. I own up 396 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:45.920 number three, I offer up. I offer up my life. 397 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:50.119 I offer up myself. I offer up my total being. 398 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:55.319 And this is a third thing that we find this 399 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:59.359 young man did. He got fed up. He came to 400 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:02.480 his senses. He owned up. He says, I've sinned against God, 401 00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:06.240