SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, hello, welcome to Pastor's Corner to Pleasant Baptist Church. Brother Jesse Adams, Elrique Hunter, Bryson Noeli Meister, and Brother Chris Catledge are all in the room. And today's topic is we have no idea. We've been uh throwing around some ideas since uh yesterday and just kind of we're we're we got one theme, but we're kind of going different roads here, if you will. And today's topic is going to be how to stay focused after graduation, while you're on vacation, uh, if you find yourself in a different season of life, if you move, maybe you relocate to a new town. Talked to a lady yesterday, matter of fact, on the phone here uh from West Virginia. So a lot of times when you move states or to a different a new area, you don't know what churches are there or what they offer. So what what do you do when life changes seasons and things completely totally change around you? Now we've been picking verses, and I see Chris has got a page or a page and a half of our notes. And so he's he's definitely prepared. And so it's gonna be uh it's gonna be interesting. And I gotta be honest with you, uh, this past Sunday we honored our graduates, which is really a neat service, but they really are walking into a new season of life. You know, they're everything is about to change, you know, now just kind of growing out of youth group, um, done with high school, you know, now it's either gonna be college, the workforce, military, um, you know, maybe something, some kind of uh mom's based entrepreneur, who knows? You know, boy, you gotta find somewhere to go. So, you know, it's life change. A lot of folks in this time of season, you know, are going on vacation, and it's easy to, you know, say, well, I'm not gonna read my Bible. I got too much to do today. We got plans with the family. So there's just a lot going on. We're in that season of life of graduation right now, thinking about changing. You know, a lot of folks in our ministry are uh going through a season where they're having to take care of loved ones or take care of their parents, and a lot of folks are going through some medical crisis right now. So uh things are continually changing. So that's kind of gonna be the focus. How do we stay focused whenever things around us are changing? So we'll have some opening remarks and get back to some scripture and then we'll uh begin dissecting all this today.

SPEAKER_03 2:23

Yeah, when we go through changes in life, man, one of the first things that dies is our relationship with the Lord. Uh we think when things settle down, we're gonna get back in tune with Him, start going to church, start reading the Bible, start praying, get things in order. But it's just a subtle attack with the enemy. And uh He works through changes in our life to interrupt our routine and to get us to a point where the first thing that slips is our relationship with the Lord. And then every decision we make is physical. Um we have no spiritual direction whatsoever. And so things can get worse and we can get comfortable. And uh when we our relationship with the Lord is interrupted and we lose that desire, we lose that uh passion that we had and that drive to uh to keep following the Lord. So it's a dangerous time, but hopefully we can uh not only help ourselves but help whoever listens today. And uh if you're going through a change, uh to to keep that relationship with the Lord close, because that's vital for your growth.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Yeah, and I think that's the problem. The problem is, well, you know, we we've mentioned it, this is a time of year where it's just I think the changes are more evident, the changes are more amplified. But let's be honest, life is always changing. There's always even if it whether it's a significant change or a subtle change, I mean, there's there's things that are always changing and moving and happening in our lives and things that come out of the blue, not what we pictured. I mean, a lot of the stuff we just mentioned from graduation to vacation, that's stuff that's planned, that's stuff that's on a calendar. But there's a lot of things that happen in life, a lot of changes, a lot of things that just come out of the blue. Um not not that it caught God by surprise, but it catches us um off guard a little bit. And life is always changing, like I said, whether it's significant or subtle. And so if if we are in the mindset of when things settle down or when things stop changing or when things get to a certain way or a certain point, then I'm gonna get back in tune, like you said, Rick, with the Lord, or really dive in or really get deeper in my relationship with him. Um, we might be waiting for a long time because there's always changes and and like I said, some are planned, some there's some transitions we we know that are gonna happen, like with our senior graduating seniors. They they they this has been on the calendar, it's been on the books for a while now. Uh they know this is about to be a change in their life. Um, a lot of times vacations are planned, they're set, um, you know, different things that happen, but um there's a lot of things in life and a lot of changes that that that come out of nowhere, and life happens to all of us, um, no matter where we are in our relationship with the Lord. And so we better make sure we are um like like you said on Sunday, Pastor, close and clean to him no matter what happens, because we don't know a change could be right around the corner.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

That's right. You know, I uh I'm just speaking off this personally, just coming off vacation, and you know, and I and I think uh, you know, just like you talk Pastor Bryson talked about having a plan, you know, things are planned and having a plan, but I think most time when when we when we go on vacation, we forget about God and we j we we think it's a uh uh I'm just gonna say it as far as some people think as far as the get out of jail free card, as far as when they go on vacation and they do things and that they might not do when they're normally around the church family. And I'm just speaking from things I've seen here recently. And I'm just I'm just gonna be honest, it's the uh that's kind of the direction I'm going on the children's side. I see a lot of families, you know, posting things already going on vacation. I've seen families at the beats this past weekend. I see people posting things and you know, they think just because uh you know they're away from church and they're away from the church family, you know, and you know, a lot of drinking going on. I'm just gonna be straight up as far as what's gonna bother me. But the uh and my problem comes on the children's side because you know, we're supposed to be teaching our children right from wrong, but when we go off to the beach, and so when we're here, everything's all hunky dory. We're at church and we're trying to be have them be there, but then we go on vacation and our actions show something different than what we're trying to teach and instill in our children.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

All right, uh, turn our mics off, leave his own.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Yeah, we're just gonna sit here and listen, Chris. We're gonna let you preach for the next 30 week. That's that's so true, though. It's so true. And and I'll be honest with you, you know, um I've been in ministry 26 years, and and Chris is right. I mean, a lot of folks get away from church, and and I I'm not trying to make I'm not trying to make humor out of it, but man, if I was sorry enough to go away and live like a pagan, I would be smart enough not to advertise it to the world. That's right. I mean, really, you know what I mean? I mean, people nowadays, it's like they're they're proud of what they do. And so I I I don't I don't understand that at all, but you're exactly right. You know, when you get away uh from church or the people and you know, and I think a lot of that's got to do with people that you hang out with. You know, they let their influences get the best of them. And so regardless of what the situation may be, you know, we're we're called to be children, salt, and light everywhere we go. That's right. And I just want to start uh this morning and act I got Acts chapter one. I know most of these guys got different scripture, but I got Acts chapter one because, you know, we think about a major change in our life and our children, high school graduates, maybe our health, age, whatever the case may be. But I was thinking this morning, you know, whenever we think about the disciples, they went through a major change too. And that's what I want to talk about this morning. And in Acts chapter number one, I mean, think about it. For the last three and a half years, they've been with Jesus pretty much daily. Other than the three three days he was in the tomb, they pretty much laid eyes on him, have a conversation with him, traveled with him, heard the messages, heard the sermons, seen the miracles, and you know, listened to the advice, listened to the rebukes of the religious people. But then all of a sudden, we get to Acts chapter one. In Acts chapter one, he's going back to heaven. So what now?

SPEAKER_03 8:28

Uh-uh.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

And if you read it, and if you read it, what did Peter say? He said, I'm going back fishing.

SPEAKER_04 8:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

So I mean, you know, they're like, so what do we do now? In Acts chapter, um, in Acts chapter number one, uh, I'm just gonna read in um verse, I'm gonna begin in verse number nine. And when he had spoken these things while they were beheld him, he was taken up, a cloud received him out of their sight, and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel. Now listen to verse 11. Which said, You men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up in the heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you in the heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. So the angel says, What are y'all doing? Staying around. I mean, they're standing looking toward the sky, like, I guess you'll be back in five minutes. What are we gonna do now? We you know, we we knew he was in the tomb, we knew he was at there, but now he's gone back into glory. And he told us as as he seen him go, we seen him come. So, I mean, five minutes, ten minutes, when's he coming back? And the angel said, What y'all doing? Yeah, what y'all doing, stay around looking? But listen to verse number 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount Cod Olives, which is from Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in and went up into the upper room, there are both Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, Simon, Judas. These all continue with one accord, one prayer and supplication with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with the brethren. And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of the names were about a hundred and twenty. Now, Peter says, okay, somebody's gotta, somebody's gotta take charge of this. So he stands up and be and begins going back to basically remind them what Jesus had done. And so if you think about it, man, they did the only thing they could do. They stayed together as a church and waited on him to show up because he told them he was gonna send them power. So they've heard that, but they don't know what that's gonna look like. And it wasn't until the winds begin to blow and they begin to realize, man, he's here.

SPEAKER_04 10:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

And they begin to understand what it meant to walk in the Holy Spirit. And so, you know, they went a lot of times when you're going through a change in life and you don't know what to do. Can I just be honest with you? Sometimes the only thing you can do is stay close to God's people and wait on God to do something.

SPEAKER_04 10:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

I mean, it, you know, changes in life are gonna happen. And I'll be honest, this situation we're here is really unique. You know, graduation, you make plans, you got opportunities, but there's gonna be times in life, as Bryson said a while ago, that we don't have a plan when changes come our way and we don't know what to do. And sometimes you just gotta cling to God's people and wait on him to show up. You know, if you move into a new town, uh, you know, visit some churches around, find a Bible-believing church, wait till God opens the door. You know, if you're in ministry and maybe you feel like it was time for you to step aside where you're at and you're in a change of life and trying to figure out what's gonna God's gonna do, wait on God to open a door. So there's a lot of things in life, but the worst thing we can do is pack up and shop and say, I'm going back to living like I used to.

SPEAKER_04 11:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Because if you do that, then basically what you said is I've lost my focus, I've lost my direction, I've lost my desire, and most of all, I've lost the fire in me to walk close and clean to the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you think that can't happen, friend, you live in a delusion and lost your witness. Yeah, I mean, it goes along with it. That's exactly right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

Uh I guess uh I'm gonna bring in the scripture that I was gonna use here. It ties right in with what Pastor Jesse had said. But I'm going back to the Old Testament book of Daniel because Daniel, just to set the stage for the one verse that I'm gonna read, Daniel was a young man. Uh he was a faithful Jew, and he looked for the coming Messiah, and God used, uh spoke to him later in Daniel through a lot of prophetic ways and a lot of great ways. But he was a young man, more than likely his family had been killed because the Babylonians had come in, ramsacked Jerusalem, burned down the walls in the temple, and uh hauled off some of these young men. I can't hear you. You can't hear me.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Okay, I can now. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 12:45

Okay. I think so.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

I can hear myself. I can't hear you.

SPEAKER_03 12:49

But um, so Daniel was a young man who had his whole life was wrecked. Uh he d he got pulled out of Jerusalem, probably lost his family, and uh, but the one thing that he had implanted in his life that didn't change was his relationship with the Lord. Now it's different now because we have the Holy Spirit. This is Old Testament days, but uh in reality his pursuit of God never changed. And this is what Daniel said. Well, let me set the stage here. There was a law that was signed that said you could not worship any God um except the the king. Of course, Daniel had set a pattern in his life of praying, regardless of where he was. It was set back in Jerusalem, and even though he was a thousand miles away in a foreign country in a pagan land, that did not change his relationship with the Lord. And when he knew that that law had been signed into order, he didn't say, Well, I'm I'm gonna pray to God secretly. I'm just gonna not pretend like I'm a Christian and do it privately. But this is what he did instead. It's if when Daniel knew that the writing had been signed, he went home in his upper room with his windows open towards Jerusalem, meaning everybody could see what he was doing. And he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks to his God, as was his custom since early days. And so what Daniel did is he set a pattern in his life of spending time with the Lord daily. That means no matter what circumstance came into his life, and this one was tragic, got moved to a foreign land, no longer had the temple he could go to, probably lost family, lost friends, lost everything he ever had. But what he didn't lose was the very thing that he could not lose in his relationship with the Lord. So even though his life changed, he still went and knelt down three times every single day and prayed to the God.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

Because it was a pattern in his life. That's right. And for us to overcome moves in our life, to overcome, we just go on a week's vacation and may get lax and don't pray and uh don't spend time with the Lord and say, Well, it's just a week and I'm on vacation, I'm just gonna take it easy for a week. That's easy to do when you don't have patterns in your life. You've got to discipline yourself to do it not only at home, but when home changes, when life changes, when you go to a different job, different city, uh go on vacation, or whatever the case may be. Daniel had a pattern in his life of seeking the Lord, and no matter what coming to his life, it didn't change that. And uh, of course, God blessed that, honored that, and uh Daniel continued to grow and God used him in great and mighty ways because of that. Yeah. So it was the patterns he had in his life.

SPEAKER_02 15:19

Yeah, that's so true. And patterns, habits, they are so important, um, especially as I think about our graduating seniors and moving into this new season of life. That's so true. Um verse that stands out to me, kind of I was kind of debating it, uh relating on uh the topic of today is one I know I've brought out um pretty even recently over the past couple weeks on the podcast here, but um just I think it's super important, plays right into what we're talking about today. Hebrews 12.2 says, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. And this this whole idea of fixing our eyes on Jesus has just been something that's been uh a repetitive theme in my life and and in my mind. I guess God's trying to teach me something with it over the past couple months because I I've said it once, I'll say it again. It's one thing to put your eyes on Jesus, but it's another thing to fix your eyes on him. And in life, when changes happen, whether they're planned or not, whether that we knew it was gonna come one day, eventually, um, like this graduation and this transition for our seniors, um, or it's just something out of the blue, catches us off guard, catches us by surprise. The reality is this if our eyes are on, if we are only putting our eyes on Jesus, those changes in life, that that is going to allow our focus to become dismantled, if you will, and and get off of the Savior. But when our eyes are fixed on him, don't matter what changes come, my eyes are gonna stay locked in on him, if that makes sense. Um, because I think oftentimes we let our situation determine our our faith, our circumstance determined um our our devotion. And and going back to going back to Daniel um that that that Pastor Rick brought out um and thinking about even you know Daniel and uh Shatter at Meshach and Abinigo, and and you you're thinking about some of the stories that are found in Daniel, uh what what I love about it, and this is something I bring out to our students all the time, and I think it plays right into what we're talking about today, is that if you look at if you look at Daniel um in the scripture and Daniel 6 that that Rick brought out, this is something that I think would be so true to say of Daniel, and the question is, is would it be true of you? In Daniel, with in with Daniel's life, what what we see in Daniel chapter 6 is that his devotion was predetermined. Predetermined devotion. It's not something you probably hear talked about a lot at church, probably not something you hear brought up, but I think that is so important that your devotion is predetermined. Because when my devotion to the Lord is predetermined, what that means is this no matter what comes my way, no matter what life throws at me, no matter if the change is significant or subtle, my devotion to the Lord, I've already predetermined I'm gonna be devoted. And what that means is this my devotion does not change based off my circumstance.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

My devotion does not change based off my setting. Talking about like following Jesus at home versus following Jesus on a vacation or when we're away, it doesn't change. And so my encouragement to you, or I guess the question I would have to people listening to the podcast today is is your devotion to the Lord predetermined or is it determined based off your circumstance, based off your situation, based off your setting, based off the context, based off where you are and who you're with and what's going on around you. And we need more people who their devotion is set, it's determined, it's predetermined, which means, hey, don't matter what happens in life, I'm gonna be devoted to the Lord. Doesn't matter the change, doesn't matter the temptation, doesn't matter what comes up, doesn't matter where I am. And so that's that's the question I would have have you to ask yourself today is is my devotion predetermined or is it determined based off the the factors um that are going on around me, um, depending on where I am, who I'm around, what's going on in my life?

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Wow. Y'all guys really hit it out of the park already. I I really thought as far as I said, one of y'all might have gone with the uh you know, talking about not forsaken assembly of uh of your brothers. But the uh but with Pastor Bryson just talking about that and and uh you know, talking about predetermining what you're gonna do. And you know, uh uh me and Carolyn got away this past week, um uh, you know, for not long, but after we finished up uh Wednesday night and and just trying to get some rest ourselves before uh the business of summer comes on. And and uh, you know, I just started talking thinking about the graduates that that's leaving. And uh a lot of them's going to college and a lot of them's gonna be in new new surroundings as well. So I thought about them and I thought, you know, because I uh wanted our predetermined things we had before we even went, we knew we were gonna get up Sunday morning and we were gonna go ahead and, you know, obviously we didn't have to get dressed up and you know to to come like we do normally, but when we got up and Carolyn fixed breakfast, we sat there and we watched online service because we just wanted to still have that connection and just to be part of it. And and uh, you know, so with me, one thing we've been going through with the children uh on Wednesday nights is is is is the Ten Commandments. And uh you know, and it's uh I know we as parents and grandparents are supposed to teach our children and grandchildren. But we can sit there and teach them and tell them about the Ten Commandments all we want, but if we're not acting it out ourselves, then we're probably doing them more harm than good. To teach them to to tell them what's right, but do what's wrong. And and uh well I said, but uh and that right here I said uh I'm just gonna go with this one first and it's Deuteronomy 6, 7. It says that thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and it shall talk of them. When thou sitest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, when you lies down, and when they uh rise up and and they're talking, and he's talking about teaching the Ten Commandments to the children, but the uh it just really bothers me to see parents talk about it and and uh not walk to walk, I guess you'd say. I just I just it makes me feel for the children, it makes me feel for the graduates. What what what kind of foundation have they had instilled in them to? Make then when they get off and now they're away from mom and dad. Uh, you know, mom and dad's might be paying the bill, but mom and dad can't see, see what you're doing, and that's I think where a lot of kids get in trouble. A lot of people in general get in trouble when the eyes are off of them and they feel like nobody's watching.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

That's very true. And I gotta be honest with you, whether you're 18, graduating high school, whether you're 25, going through a career change, you know, whether you're 27, getting married, you know, whether you're having your first kid, moving to a new state, uh, going through a a crisis in your life, I gotta be honest with you, it all comes down to one thing. I mean, we can sit here and talk all we want to, but it comes down to one thing. You gotta stand on your own two feet. Whether you're 18 going off to college, when you get to college, you gotta stand spiritually on your own two feet. You can't live off somebody else's spirit. You know, any regardless of what age you're at in life, yeah, the believers encourage you, and we love one another and we pray for one another, but when it gets right down to it, you gotta stand on your own two feet. And and I thought about this scripture, I wanted to read in John chapter six, and it's very powerful. And in John chapter six, um, some people that are called followers, they basically decide that they don't want to follow Jesus no more. And they basically walk off and leave. And I want you to listen to what he says. The Bible says that in verse um 65, Jesus says, I said unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given him my father. And from that time many of the disciples went back and walked no more with him. Then Jesus looked at the twelve and said, Are you also gonna leave with them? And Simon Peter answered and said, Lord, where shall we go? For you have the words of eternal life, and we believe and we are sure that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. So Jesus looked at his twelve men and said, Are y'all gonna leave with them? Y'all gonna walk off and not come anymore? I mean, it's time for you to make a decision. And they had to stand on their own two feet. You know, where are we gonna go? We believe that you're the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Yeah, we believe that you're who you say you are. So there's nowhere else for us to go. And I think that's something that everyone, regardless of what age you're at or what situation in life or what change of life you're going through, everyone's gotta answer that question. Are you gonna stay or are you gonna go?

SPEAKER_03 24:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

And you've got to answer that on your own.

SPEAKER_03 24:37

Yeah, because you're not always gonna have the group. Yeah, I mean you're not gonna always have the church and your friends and family. Sometimes you just all along.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

Yeah, when you 18, leaving home, going off to college, your parents aren't around, nobody's got an eye on you that knows you. You get around friends at school, whether it's alcohol or partying, or the case may be, you know, you you're no longer one of 200 in a class at high school, you're now one of 10,000. So are you gonna stand on your own two feet and say no on do the right thing? Don't get me wrong, I hope they do, but in reality, when nobody's watching, it's you. Yep. You gotta make that decision.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

And that's where that predetermined devotion comes into play. Right. Um, I mean, it really, really does. And and the hope and prayer is that especially with our graduates, um, that they have set a firm foundation for their in their lives, um, that they have learned and grown, and and now that they are ready to stand on their own two feet, and they're ready to personally own their faith um no matter where they are and no matter what what's going on around them. And so um that's so true.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

Well, that's also goes uh twofold on that. If they have laid that foundation when they get off to college, then maybe they'll be the right influence on somebody else to lead them in the right direction.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Yeah. And you know, it's not it's not just the it's not just the partying and the friends. I'll be honest with you. A lot of universities and professors, man, they're gonna challenge everything you say you believe. That's right. So, I mean, even, you know, as far as academically, spiritually, all that ties together. I mean, you know, you gotta look a professor in the eye and say, do you agree with that? Or they challenge everything you say you believe. I mean, that's tough for a 19-year-old kid.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

Yeah, they're about they're about to get tested like they never have before. Um, you know, I I think about I just think about Daniel. I mean, I I I love it because and it's so encouraging, it's so powerful. Um, I put myself in his shoes like when I would have done the same thing because he realizes the the consequence which should be thrown into a lion's den if he doesn't, if if if he continues to do what he's always done. Um but as as Pastor Rick already brought it up and mentioned it, yeah, he he went back, he opened up the window, and and and he got down on his knees and his because his devotion wasn't determined by the consequences of his actions or it wasn't determined by what was going on around him or the people that were trying to get him in trouble. Um and so I I just hope, you know, and just encouraging um our students with that, encouraging anybody in in a season of of life change just to have have that devotion set um because when your devotion is predetermined, you don't let the environment change you. You change it.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 27:29

Um and so that that is just I just think it it's one of the most important things is to have that devotion and and waking up every and it's a daily decision, it's a daily choice to say, hey, I'm I'm gonna say no to the world, yes to the word. I'm gonna I'm gonna be devoted to the Lord um no matter how attractive or enticing things um that are against it, um, things that go against his word um and what he says may be. Um and so that that's just my encouragement. Um it's just been replaying through my mind past several months, um, and hopefully it's serving serving as uh just an encouragement and also a challenge to anyone listening today. All right. Any closing thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Well, I'm just gonna go ahead and hit mine real quick, like it's just uh I knew he had something.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

I knew he knew he did.

SPEAKER_01 28:15

I didn't hit the one as far as that you know that that I had originally because where I saw it going, but the uh but I just want to go back and just read the scripture first.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

I'm hungry. My stomach is growling over here.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

Sounding like a little mountain lion holding the money.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

I'm sorry, Chris.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

Yeah, I thought you were growling at me. And the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. And uh, but the next verse is what really caught me. It's verse 20. It said, And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it. And we know as far as just talking about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. And uh but verse 23 is what hits home to me with with your family and your children and how we're leading. So that Abraham drew near and said, Will thou dost also destroy the righteous with the wicked? And we know how that worked out right there as far as with God destroying uh Sodom and Gomorrah. But you know, and and I get it, you're a grown man, you're a grown woman, you have the right to make your own decisions, and God gives us that free will. But he also gave us responsibility to raise our children and to be leaders of our family. And uh sometimes uh you know, your family's gonna pay the consequences of your actions, and and I'm just speaking personally, this is personal to me, uh just some of the stuff I've seen this past week because I've had friends growing up where, you know, you know, you're not around them a whole lot, so you don't know they have a drinking problem. But when it really comes to uh fruition or when you really figure it out is when you see their children have this drinking problem too. And uh and uh you know, so uh my closing statement would just be is you know, as parents, you know, your ch you know yes, your children's watching the good and the bad, and you're teaching them, like Rick talked about, you're teaching them how to walk and and you have to let go. But you can't let go to the point of just letting your children have free reign and letting them do what they want to do. There's got to be some type of rules and discipline as far as in in it to try to lead your children away from the things that you know that's damaging your life.

SPEAKER_00 30:59

Rick.

SPEAKER_03 31:00

I just say um establish some non-negotiables in your life, and one of them is walking with the Lord and spending time with him because when uh when game time comes, that's not ready, that's not time for practice. Yeah. You gotta be ready for the game when it shows up. That's right. And as a Christian, the game is always on. There is no downtime, there is no practice time. You gotta establish, like Daniel did, you gotta establish some time in your life daily to spend time with the Lord because life is gonna change. Family is gonna change, situation is gonna change, life is full of changes. And the enemy can use these changes to distance your relationship with the Lord if you haven't established some uh time with the Lord. And so, just like Daniel, regardless of what comes your way, uh go to the Lord, pray, seek direction, seek your relationship with Him, stay close to Him, and uh just keep that relationship as close as possible because it needs to be consistency. And um when you when you're fixing to have a life change, when you're going through a life change, that is not time to say, okay, now I need to pray. No, it's too late. Uh you you need to establish that so you're ready so it doesn't affect your relationship with the Lord. And therefore, if you're on vacation, you're graduating from high school, college, changing jobs, changing careers, changing states. No matter what change may come into your life, you've already established uh the kind of person you're gonna be, and and the situation doesn't change who you are.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

That's very true. And uh just in closing, I would just kind of support what they've already said is um making a decision is not smart when you're in the heat of the moment.

SPEAKER_04 32:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Uh you've got to have a made-up mind, a predetermined um focus, and you gotta also, as we've said before, stay close and clean. But at the same time, understand that change is gonna come in life. Uh, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. So I'm holding on to the one thing that's never gonna change. And so uh thank you guys for tuning in today. There's a lot of different variables we could have gone with this because um those of you that's older in life could probably name a whole lot of changes you've gone through that we didn't even talk about today. So, you know, I'm I'm 52. I've gone through a lot of things in life that I never dreamed possible, but that's just the way life is. It's unpredictable. But we serve a God that is always the same, and we serve a God that is always close to us and near to us and said he would never leave us or forsake us. And so, Chris, thank you for your sermon today. And uh we probably lost a lot of our audience, but that's I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

Oh, Rick just wrote the graduation speech right here for the next graduation or the state championship uh pre-day speech.

SPEAKER_00 33:38

Holy, I'm just kidding. So, uh 16 year old bus driver. What would be his biggest life change?

SPEAKER_03 33:45

Summer.

SPEAKER_00 33:49

I believe his biggest life change would be going into the principal's office the next day and saying, I'm standing up to drive a school bus and not be a nurse worker. I'm like,