Choose Life And Live Better

Transcript

Framing Life And Legacy

SPEAKER_02 0:12

Welcome to another episode of For Life and Legacy. We're glad that you're here. Listen, let's go ahead and sit back. Don't relax yourself. Get yourself ready for what's about to happen to transform your life and your legacy. We're still believing that great things are happening. And they're happening in you. Come on, let's get ready to make this happen. Life's been waiting for you to show up. Yes, it has.

Watch And Pray Explained

SPEAKER_03 1:14

Scripture said, man, out of what? Watch him pray. It's okay watch and pray to have your eyes open while you pray. Because there's some any of y'all in here ever been driving, and you while you're driving, you're praying? Guess what? You can't what? You better not close your eyes. You better not close them out. Keep your eyes open. Now I know some of you say, well, brother, you said properly interpreted the scripture. Watch him pray means that you would pray and you'd keep watching that you'd obviously keep watch, right? So the joke is obviously in that that we would have a mindset that we might be on the wall, that we might even be, uh, as I said, that he set the watchman on the wall to see what would happen. And he finally the word came that he would uh you know, write the vision and what? Make it plain. All right, we we we just want to make sure we understand. We probably do some things. So we just want to thank God for all of you. So let's do this real

Doctrine Versus Dogma

SPEAKER_03 2:05

quick. Uh, for those of you who are concerned, and I want to make sure you understand, there is a such thing as doctrine. Can we do that? There's a such thing as doctrine. Yes. Anybody heard of a doctrine?

SPEAKER_04 2:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

All right, how about dogma? You ever heard of dogma? Dogma, dogma, d-O-g-m-a, dogma. It is not a dog's maw. It literally means dogma. All right, so there's a difference between dogma and doctrine. Anybody? Okay, so doctrine in and of itself is more a bright, a broader term. Okay, but doctrine, uh, in a sense that how we govern ourselves accordingly. But a dogma is something that's so so narrow in that you won't, you can't veer to the left or to the right. And in some instances, in some religions, um, if you don't pray on your knees, you're not praying.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Right? That's dogma. Right? You get to the point where it's off course to some degree, and it, but it's eccentric to whether or not you get to salvation in some religions, right? And we want to just make sure we start. I could go into deeper depths, and I know some people would wonder, but at the end of the day, what we want to make sure is we go to Proverbs the fourth chapter, we're gonna take you there real quick. Proverbs the fourth chapter, second verse, and then we're gonna go to Deuteronomy 30 and 19. Deuteronomy 30 and 19. So, Proverbs the fourth chapter, second through the fourth verse. And Deuteronomy 30 and 19. I'm gonna say this because if you actually um if you're actually doing your scriptures, and I've heard people tell tell tell the tale that Christ didn't have a doctrine. Let's eat. There was a doctrine. I know some some of us have come against religion. Churches joined some in some instances ten years ago, they joined the band. We're on the bandwagon. We don't need religion. Okay. Well, that means you don't need instruction. That's what you're telling. You don't need instruction. Now, could there, is it possible? What's a hammer used for? Anybody? What do you use a hammer for? Put for nails, right? But if I take a hammer to your head, am I misusing a hammer? Misusing a hammer. So can somebody misuse scripture? Okay, so there's nothing really wrong with a scripture, it's your use of it. Understand that. It's how you actually use or enforce the instrument that is meant to actually either put something together, because a hammer actually can put something together and it can tear something apart. Right? So in this illustration, a hammer can either you can either hit with it or you can pull with it. Y'all with me? And the same thing can be true with scripture. You can hit with it, you can put something together, or you can pull with it, and you can pull stuff apart. And if you're not be if you're not mindful, according to the text, it says that a man ought to, you know, he ought to study the what? Show himself approved. Rightly dividing the word of God. Rightly dividing. Somebody say it with me. Rightly dividing the word of God. Alright, so let me give you some key text. If you're there, Proverbs, the fourth chapter, say, I'm there. Alright, anybody want to read? We're gonna read uh two through four. We're gonna make some quick points and we're gonna keep hitting. We're gonna keep going. Two through four.

Good Doctrine In Proverbs 4

SPEAKER_01 5:20

I give you sound learning. So that so do not say my teacher. So I give you sound learning. Do not escape my teaching. I too was his son to my father. Cherished by my mother. Then he choice me. He said to me, Take hold on my words with all keep my commands, and you will be.

SPEAKER_03 5:52

Alright, here we go. So let's start at verse 2. Uh, if you have King James version, I give you good doctrine, a sound teaching. I give you good doctrine. Don't forsake this good doctrine. Don't forsake it. If you go to Joshua, he tells you specifically that he'll keep the word in his mouth, right? That he might be able to keep the word in his mouth. In other words, that doesn't mean that you're gonna keep it and hold it in like a gumball. That means that you're gonna keep the word in your mouth, so it's what you say. You understand what I'm saying? The text is that you would say it over and over again. Let's do this really quick. The way you remember something oftentimes is that you would repeat it. The word meditate means that you would repeat in literal term in Hebrew. You would repeat it, you would repeat the text over and over again. Because can I tell y'all something? Folk in the Old Testament didn't necessarily have written paper. They had to repeat the word. You would sit in front of somebody who had the text, and they you would be taught the word, and then you repeat the word, and you would take it home and repeat that word so that you would keep it where? In your heart. You didn't have to worry about whether or not somebody burned the text up. If it's in your heart, you can't burn that up. Right? So he wants to make sure this. I'm gonna quickly get to the last part. So now we understand good doctrine is good. We want good doctrine. Can I tell y'all? We want good doctrine. Anybody else want good doctrine? We want good doctrine. Come into church with open-toe shoes and you're going to hell. Is that good doctrine?

SPEAKER_04 7:27

No.

SPEAKER_03 7:28

Okay, well, we're gonna we're gonna leave that alone. Because some some folk ain't ready for that yet. But I'm gonna tell you right now, there are some things we what the old script scripture, some people say you strain that a what? That and swallow a camel. Amen. Anybody remember what that saw? You pick apart something.

SPEAKER_04 7:51

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_03 7:53

Make it few, yeah. You just this right here is gonna, but you but you will that big old sin thing, you're gonna, oh yeah, I'll take that in. I'm gonna open my throat up real wide because it makes me feel good. Right? Yeah, you you do you anybody ever done that though? Anybody? Yes, anybody ever done that? Okay, so let's be real. So here we go. So we understand when I was my father's son, tenor only, and the sight of my mother, he taught me and said, here we go. Here's a key part. The last part he says, let your heart retain my words, keep my commandments and live. Keep my commandments and live. Now y'all ever heard this term that says live and learn. I've heard that term live and learn. Live and learn, live and learn.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

If you live, you're gonna learn.

SPEAKER_03 8:40

If you live, you're gonna learn.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

If you learn, you're gonna live.

SPEAKER_03 8:44

But if you learn, you will live better. Right? So in this text, what we find is that what should we do first? We should learn.

SPEAKER_04 8:55

Learn to live.

SPEAKER_03 8:56

Learn to live. That's the that's the that's the point. Listen, can I tell y'all something? That's the point of the doctrine. The point of the doctrine is so that you

Learn First, Then Live

SPEAKER_03 9:05

would learn to live. That only person that would fall away from it would be the fool. Let me let me let me let me break it down here. Anybody ever been drunk? No, you've been drunk. You've been drunk. And normally we mean that you're intoxicated, right? You're very intoxicated. You know what? You could be so drunk that your body revolts against you. Anybody ever been there?

SPEAKER_04 9:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

Your body revolts against you. That's the reason. Y'all understand what I'm saying? Um take it there. They will say that you worship the porcelain God. You could be so drunk, you end up bowing at the knees. You'll bow your knees at the throne of a toilet. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Some of you, I don't know, yeah, y'all ain't never been there, but y'all are. You call an Earl. That's his name. The name the name of the God is Earl. All right, so we we now obviously we're online, we're joking. This is just all right, so it we we we want to make sure we understand this. So here is the thing is that you can get to the point where even your body says that's just too much.

SPEAKER_04 10:18

Right.

SPEAKER_03 10:19

But how did you get there? Did you have a warning sign along the way?

SPEAKER_04 10:24

Yes, you did.

SPEAKER_03 10:25

You did. Did you ignore the warning sign? What happened? You paid the consequence. So let me ask you this then. Did anybody ever say you should drink that much?

unknown 10:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

Did anybody ever tell you you shouldn't drink that much? Now I see some of y'all say, no, ain't nobody in my camp ever tell me. I see you. I see you. Right? So that's okay if you hang around some fools. That's what happened.

SPEAKER_04 10:48

That's what happened.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

But look what God got you right now.

SPEAKER_04 10:51

Right. Right?

SPEAKER_03 10:52

Look what here's the thing, though. In that in the between time, you went from being sober to be intoxicated.

SPEAKER_04 11:00

Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Right? You went from being sober-minded to be intoxicated. And when you're intoxicated, you make what? Really bad decisions. Really bad decisions. Right. Herein is what we understand when we say we can live and learn. Sometimes we live and learn, and that's not the way God wants us to go. Because you're making poor decisions. But you're being influenced by those things that have intoxicated you. Y'all see what I'm saying? You've been, because here's the thing. Here's what lust will do. Here's what lust will do. Lust will make you throw all common sense. Lust will make you throw it to the wind. It'll make you, y'all remember, you maybe y'all, some of y'all have been in love so much that you do, you the signs were there that they were gonna use you. But you wanted them so bad. I just got to have them. Just got to have them. And the next thing you know, you wanted to throw them back. Right? Too late. Too late, you done got them now. Here's the thing is that along the way, if we take the time to ask God for direction, what will he do for us? He'll give us, he'll encourage us, he'll tell us what tell us exactly what we need to do and how we need to do it. So herein

Intoxication, Lust, And Bad Decisions

SPEAKER_03 12:20

is where we understand. If we keep his commands, some people say we just we live in grace, brother. Let me tell you something. You do live in grace. The grace for you to be saved. But you can't go out here and run a run a red light and doing 55 miles an hour, you know, just run a red light and think, hey, I'm gonna miss every single time I'm gonna get through that light, everything's gonna be alright. You're gonna hit something one day. It might not be two days, but you will hit something one day, and it will forever change your life. Now, here's the problem it'll change the life of someone else.

unknown 12:56

Right?

SPEAKER_03 12:56

It'll change the life of someone else. And now you live with both not only whatever injury you might have, but the guilt of whatever you've done to somebody's life. That's if your heart's right. Am I right, y'all? Now, some of us, honestly, if we were to look back over our lives, we probably hurt some people.

SPEAKER_04 13:14

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_03 13:15

We probably did. Am I right? Yes, right? Because we won't sober. And we weren't thinking about doctrine. Am I right? Do y'all think it's necessary that you still how many of y'all still got some life to live? Got a whole lot of life to live. So if we still got life to live, do you think we could get some more commandments on our heart that we could live better? We can do some things better. Alright, so if you believe that, go to Deuteronomy 30, chapter verse 19, and we're gonna move on. Deuteronomy 30 and 19. I say this and I wanted to uh put the preface this particular teaching with this uh because as I began to look through it, I realize that we're talking about prayer. And prayer is communication with God. And if if prayer is communication with God, then one of the things we ought to be mindful is that when we go into prayer, we aren't we should not be just talking, but we should be what? Listening. Listening. Now I learned this while you're turning there. I learned it some time ago. If you spell the word listen, if you spell the word listen, the same letters that are required to make the word listen, you can spell the word silent. If you spell silent, right, the same letters that are needed for silence can be used for the word listen. So here's the thing. Even in conversation with people you love, it's okay to be silent for you to listen, and not to preset your answer. I mean, y'all have uh been guilty of that presetting your answer. You already know what I'm I already know what I got for you. Alright, yeah, I already look, I was loaded before you showed up. Yeah, I had already loaded because I knew I saw you coming. That's right, before you left your house, I knew where you were going. Right? And you know, it's sometimes it's just it's it's bad. But I believe the scriptures tell us if we if we take his commandments upon us, we'll live better. That we ought to we ought to what take our time to listen, be slow to what?

unknown 15:31

Anger.

SPEAKER_03 15:32

Slow to slow to slow to anger. I like that one too. Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Oh, here. Thank you. Right? We want to be quick to hear. How many of y'all have been the opposite?

unknown 15:44

Woo!

Choose Life In Deuteronomy 30

SPEAKER_03 15:46

Be quick to speak, and I don't want to listen to anything you have to say. Because I'm mad. Because I done got angry too quick.

SPEAKER_04 15:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:55

Right? All right, so uh we're gonna go. Somebody keep your finger there since we're teaching. We'll go to we're gonna keep your finger in Deuteronomy. We're gonna go to some Proverbs 16 after this. Uh, let's see. I call heaven and earth, Deuteronomy 30 and 19. I call heaven and earth as a witness today against you. I've set before you what?

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Blessings.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

Blessings are cursing. No, I set before you life and death. Blessings and let me ask you something. What do you want? Life or death?

SPEAKER_04 16:22

Life, life, life.

SPEAKER_03 16:24

That was kind of slow. What do you want? Life or death? Life. All right, that's better and louder. Blessings are cursing.

SPEAKER_04 16:30

Blessings and blessings.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

Therefore, what does he say? Choose life. All right, choose life. Why? What does it go on to say? So who? Not just you alone, you and your children. Your children's children. The intent here is that we might give you sound doctrine, not just for your sake, because we love you. Well, he loves you. But he loves you enough that he wants to care for who? Your children. That God is a God of generations, He's a God of legacy. He wants to make sure that that happens. Here's what I love here he says I call heaven and earth. He kind of raised the bar, don't he? Doesn't he raise the bar? He did not call, he did not call your neighbor. He didn't call anybody. It's almost as if heaven and earth could testify if your neighbor ain't around. Right? He's made it so that everything would know that I've placed this before you. Now, how many of y'all have ever made the wrong choice? Sometimes you made the wrong choice. How many of y'all are choosing life a lot more now? A little bit better, a little bit better. Choosing life more. Now, let me let me express this to you because when I say choosing life a lot more, it does include not just coming to church, but making some difficult decisions in life. And the reason they're challenging is because your flesh wants to do one thing when your spirit man knows you're supposed to do another thing. Right? It's almost as there's a self-destruct mode.

unknown 18:11

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

Are y'all with me? It's almost as but the self-destruct mode is can be categorized. Can I can I say this real quick and I synapsify in lust?

SPEAKER_04 18:20

Amen.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

There's a lustful desire that keeps us from hearing the voice of God real clean. Because the voice of your flesh tries to speak louder than God. Am I right, y'all? Alright, so go with me to Proverbs 1632 and we're gonna move on. If you're there, 1632. Doc, if you got it, go ahead, uh Minister Bruce, if you if you already there. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

He that is slow. And he that rules his spirit.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

That's pretty powerful. Um

Rule Your Spirit: Proverbs 16

SPEAKER_03 19:11

he who is slow to what? Anger is better than the mighty. And he who rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city. That's something to think that most of the time, even in Old Testament text, they wanted to take a city. It's something to think that I'm gonna take a city, I'm gonna I'm gonna rule over a city. And typically, what that means you're gonna establish dominance in that city. There's a scripture that says you will be more than a what? Conqueror. More than a conqueror. More than a you can conquer. Here's the thing you can truly conquer something. But until you dominate it, you say what do I mean? There used to be a uh a fight back in the day. Y'all probably remember it, uh, some people may not. But uh anybody remember uh this guy named Cassius Clay? Cassius Clay, his name was later turned to what Muhammad Ali. Now who would he fight?

SPEAKER_04 20:12

Joe Fraser.

SPEAKER_03 20:13

Joe Frazier. What was a what was a what was a battle, uh one of the biggest battles with the rumble in the what? Rumble in the jungle. Who did he fight to rumble in the jungle? Anybody remember?

SPEAKER_04 20:25

George Foreman.

SPEAKER_03 20:26

George Foreman. Y'all, George Foreman. But did y'all have y'all ever seen them go back and forth? Back. So one time one would win, one time the other would win. Y'all ever seen that? Y'all see the way he would the crown changed hands a couple of times, right? The belt moved from place to place. And Joe Fraser, Joe, it was a lot. So here's the thing is that in each battle, it was as if they could change, it could change hands. So one would conquer one time, one would conquer the other time. Now, there was this other guy named Mike Tyson. Yeah. He yeah. See, you know, that's a that's a good story there. But Mike Tyson, y'all remember, Mike Tyson, he wouldn't just conquer you.

unknown 21:14

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:15

He would dominate you. I mean, you wouldn't make it out the first ramp, some of the people. Some people, I remember I said they'd get up and get some popcorn or somebody come back and a fight over.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Put your lights out.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Put your lights out, right? Here's a thought. Well, they're both fights. The term here is that one would be conquered, which means at some point in time it would be a possibility for that to be overturned. But to be more than a conqueror means that you do dominate. You do don't you dominate, you take over, you establish dominion, you change culture. How can I say that? Because if you go to the islands, Bahamas, especially in that area, you see people who don't look like people who are British, but they surely speak British. Some of them speak French. What happened? The culture changed because they didn't just come in and conquer, they set up government. They dominated, they changed the culture. Y'all with me? Because I guarantee you they were not talking like that when they arrived.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

I agree. Would you agree?

SPEAKER_03 22:29

Here is the thing: is that if you're going to be a man who is slow to anger, you have to learn to dominate whatever's going on in your mind. You have to transform it. So let's do this quick exercise. I'm gonna get a little ahead of myself, but I'm gonna ask you to do this for me. Everybody in here knows your name, right? You know your name, you know your own name. You know your own name. All right, so here we go. Here we go. I'm gonna count from one to ten. And somewhere along, actually, I'm gonna do this different. It works out better this way.

Interrupting Anxious Thoughts With Scripture

SPEAKER_03 23:05

I'm gonna ask you to count from one to ten. And somewhere along the line, I'm gonna ask you to say your name. Y'all ready? Ready to start counting? Ready? One, two, three, start counting. Say your name. See, all right, there we go. Now, did you stop counting?

SPEAKER_04 23:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 23:28

Did you have to stop counting to say your name? Okay, it's called an interrupt. You say, What are you doing? Have you ever had thoughts running around in your head? And you, and and you, and yeah, and you got you no, actually, here's the thing. From the enemy, you had thoughts running around in your head. You have deceitful thoughts, thoughts that would corrupt what God has already said. Thoughts like that that were contrary to your healing, contrary to your to your deliverance. Have you ever had those thoughts running around in your head? Talk to me if you have. You had them running around in your head. So let me ask you something. What did you do to interrupt them?

SPEAKER_04 24:02

Pray.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Pray, pray, pray. How about this? Here's something that you just did. You called out your name. Something that's been established. Is it possible then that when something like that runs around in your head, you call on Jesus, but even more so that you call on the word that is contrary to the thought you're having.

unknown 24:26

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03 24:27

You call on a scripture to interrupt this self-destructible.

SPEAKER_04 24:34

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

Because here's what it is. There's a scripture in James that says that a double-minded man, right? It also means that it's an anxious man. To be anxious is to be full of anxiety. Anxiety means that you're tossed to and fro. Y'all know what I'm talking about. Am I right? Am I making sense? Anybody in here ever been anxious? You're wondering what's gonna happen? But if I'm in Christ and I got a word that I want to lay hold to, should I let go of that word? No. What should I do? When somebody comes to challenge me, what should I do? I should use that word. If anything, I should I should grab a hold of even tighter. I should not let it go. I should hold on to their word to the point where things in my life start to change. Right? And even in this is where we begin to pick up our text. Because that means you begin, because you really, if I could talk to you about prayer all day long, but the truth of the matter is some of us may spend time in prayer and you're not productive. You're not productive. It's not productive prayer. Are y'all with me? Okay, okay. I I think some of y'all believe me. So so let me let me uh uh um do this with me real quick. Let's go to Genesis the 18th chapter. Genesis 18th chapter, and while you're going there, I wanted to bring this in into focus.

Productive Prayer And Its Limits

SPEAKER_03 26:02

Is that we want productive prayer. Anyone believe we want productive prayer?

SPEAKER_04 26:07

Amen.

SPEAKER_03 26:07

All right, we want productive prayer. Um and and I might say something a little controversial, uh, but some of some of y'all, I got scripture to back me up what I'm about to say while you're turning over there. Um there are times for some of us when prayer may be a waste of time.

SPEAKER_04 26:27

Yes. Controversial.

SPEAKER_03 26:30

That is controversial, isn't it? Very controversial. There's not how about how about this? And you know what? These are some of the things. But he let me let me point it to you. In Jeremiah 7th chapter, verse 16, there's a condition of the heart of people. Write this in your notes while you're there. Jeremiah 7th chapter, verse 16. It's the condition of the heart of the people. They've raised up Baal before God and placed Baal as number one. And God is now angry, and you know it takes God a while to get angry. He's gotten to the point where he says, you know what? Don't even talk to me anymore. That's bad. Okay, how about this? You remember when Samuel was praying for who? Saul. And God says, Why are you still praying for that man? I have forsaken him. Because guess what? He forsake, he forsook me first. Because if we go to the text, the reason Saul was made king was because as the scripture tells us it's that when he was small in his own eyes, when he was small in his own eyes, and otherwise he was humble, God made him king. But apparently, he got his hips on his shoulders. I don't know if y'all remember that, but he got a little bit big for his preachers. Y'all probably remember that one, right? And he started doing things on his own and listening to the will of the people instead of God. And God said, The kingdom's been rent from you. So there are times where you realize what God was speaking, said, Don't pray about that anymore. But does that mean you gotta be in his face to know it? Yes, you gotta know God to get to that place. Because the people that we're talking about right now is either Jeremiah and Samuel. Do you think they had a good relationship with God? Yeah, I think so. They had a good relationship. Should we have a good relationship with God? I think we should. Should we be, um the scripture says men ought to what? Always pray. Y'all already knew where I was going. Ought to always pray and not think. It's to stay in a constant communication with God. So here we go. If you're there, you should be there

Setup For Genesis 18 And Closing CTA

SPEAKER_03 28:43

by now. Genesis the 18th chapter. We're start we're starting at verse 25. I had to set the verse 25. Yes. Um, somebody read 25 through 27, and I'm gonna give you the mic. Come on, get this mic, somebody.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

Oh, we truly want to thank you for joining. We know that it took some time out of your day, but we hope that it was seen as an investment for your future because we know that you're expecting great things. Why? Because he's promised great things for your life. As a matter of fact, he's promised great things for your life and your legacy. If you're enjoying this, we're gonna ask you to like and share. Tell a friend about it. We're gonna continue to bring you this good content. We have the rest of this teaching coming up next week. So please, please tune back in. Even set the alert so that you'd get notification of when it does come on. So again, we love you, and there's nothing you can do about it. Because we are here for your life and your legacy. You stay blessed now you're here.