Episode 42: Titus and 1 Chronicles

Good theology doesn't stop at what we know—it changes how we live. In this episode, Pastor Rodney and Pastor Samson explore Titus' challenge to live what we believe, uncover the hope hidden in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles, reflect on the life-changing power of God's presence in Psalms 84–85, and close with a reminder from Proverbs that our words have the power to bring life or death.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Good day. Once again, it's good to have you with us on North Bobble Recap. Pastor Samson, thank you for joining me again. Absolutely. This is fun. If this looks a little familiar, yeah, we are doing back-to-backs today. One of the same closed. I need to turn the hat around, rob this, and do our podcast. Nobody will know, but maybe maybe this will work. It'll work. It'll work. All right, here we go. Hey, today, uh, again, just let us know that you are watching, share with somebody. It's very important to be able to help us get the word out and to spread the good news. And um, let's let's go on this journey together. Today we're talking about opening new books, Titus, uh, first chronicles. Yep. Okay. And then we're going to be looking at Psalms 84 and 85, and then also the book of Proverbs, chapter number 15. Okay? That's right. Let's go. Let's do this. Go ahead and get us get us going.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Absolutely. So let's start with Titus. Uh, so Titus is a relatively short letter that Paul writes, uh, and he's writing to his uh protege, uh, his son in the faith, Titus, who is in the island of Crete. Now we know Paul is happens to be traveling, um, and he you know plants a church, has established a church in Crete. Um, and this is kind of his normal practice. He leaves one of his uh his young guys to lead in the church while he goes on to the next place. And so while he's gone, he leaves Titus and he goes to the next place in Ephesus and he writes back um a letter to Titus to encourage him and to give him further instruction. And I would say the the the main thing that you need to know about this letter is that good theology shows up in how you live. Right? And so it's not just about knowing a bunch of stuff. That's good. It's how you live your faith. Preach that out. Come on. So what you believe affects how you behave. And so first the first chapter of Titus, uh, you see that uh he's teaching Titus or he's instructing Titus how to appoint good leaders and silence bad ones. Right? That's his first job. Um, and so uh he appoints elders in the church who are above reproach, they're faithful at home, they're self-controlled, holding firmly to the truth. Um, then on the flip side, he tells him, hey, you gotta shut down false teachers who are ruining whole households for money. And so, and he kind of says something in verse 12 that's probably you know kind of uh feels odd in our culture today, but he talks about a stereotype uh that is popular among Christian people. Uh verse 12, Pastor, if you want to read that.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Yeah. Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, the people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons. That's right. And so Paul. Pretty strong words.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Pretty strong words. And so Paul basically says, Yep, I agree with that. Uh, and so he's saying that uh the culture of Crete is, and I don't think he's making this distinction, like every person is like this, but he's saying the culture uh of this island uh is pretty wild, it's pretty out there, and so it's gonna take strong leadership to lead a church in such a difficult environment. And so it's kind of like um, you know, uh you're a when you're a hiring manager, uh, you're not necessarily looking for like who's the best in the interview. You're looking for, man, can I who's the person I can give the keys to and walk away and know that things are not gonna go missing? Trust, honesty. Yeah. And so that is this is the checklist in chapter one of the kind of people that you can trust. And I think for us as modern-day believers, uh, it's not just about church leadership. I think this is just about leadership in general, right? The kind of leadership that we should have in our life is people who are trustworthy. Um, and he gives us a stern warning in verse 16.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

Yeah, and that is the nature of false teachers, right? People who claim to know God, but man, they do not live for him. And Jesus says it very clearly, you know them by their fruit. Uh, and so for us, the ultimate test of a false teacher, right, is do they produce fruit? What kind of fruit do they produce? Um, and and there are plenty of people in our world that claim to know God, but if you look at the way that they live, they do not show it. Um I was uh I was talking to a group of people recently, some friends, and we're talking about kind of like the celebrity culture in the Christian world. And sometimes we we listen to people and we kind of put people on a pedestal when we don't know them. Uh and but we might follow them on social media or read their books and think that they're amazing, fantastic. But it's very different when you can actually see someone uh and know them and know them per you know and in a personal level, you actually see their life, that they have proximity to you. And that's why it's more than just, you know, I have, you know, uh you have pastors and leaders at the church, but you need people in small groups, people that you can do life with. That's good. You can actually walk into their home, you can get to know them. It's good. Um, that they can do that for you, uh, because that's the only way that you really know how someone really is.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Hmm. Titus chapter two um talks about the grace uh that is important because it's really interesting, chapter two, and I'm just gonna read this and I'll let you take it and go with it, is that really he begins to dive down into specifically calling out older men, younger men, older women, younger women, and and even workers. Um and he he begins to just call people out, and he talks about the grace uh that really trains us as a follower of Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Let me read that. Yeah. Okay. Uh Titus chapter two, verse 11 through 14. For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people, because we understand that. And we are instructed by that same grace that from godless living and sinful pleasures, we should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. While we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our God, great God and Savior Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

That's right. So grace isn't just about forgiveness of past sins. It's also a teacher to shape the present, how we live our life. Pastor Rodney, you always say it. Uh, we're not just saved, uh, you know, uh we're not saved uh aside from good works. I mean, that that is true, but we're saved for good works to accomplish something good. I think of it this way. I think of it like uh, you know, like SGA, uh Shea Gilgis Alexander, he didn't win the MVP because he was the best at keeping the rules of the NBA, right? Now, like there are plenty of players that might be really good at keeping the rules, but no, it's about being the best player uh on the best team. That's the MVP. And so sometimes we think that following Jesus is about just practicing and following the rules. And that's that's not the point. That's not good works, right? Good works is not that I didn't lie or steal or whatever. Good works is that, man, I share the gospel with somebody that I am advancing the kingdom, I'm serving the body of Christ, I'm serving other people uh in their time of need. That is the kind of good works uh that shows and reveals the grace, shows the fruit uh that you truly are saved because you're manifesting the characteristics of Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Titus is so good. And we talk about faithfulness a lot, but the evidence of faithfulness is fruitfulness. Always. And you can't say you're faithful without producing fruit that's evidence of repentance, and that's what he's dealing with in Tatatus.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

Yeah, absolutely. You're saved to do good. Chapter three kind of reminds us of that. Uh, and so in in doing that, uh Paul encourages us that we are to be subject to authorities, be gentle, avoid pointless arguments. He's kind of giving us a rule of living in this very difficult world, in this difficult culture that is Crete, but I think is also kind of us today, right? Uh, and so we are saved not uh because we've done good things, but we are saved to do good things. Uh so good works are the fruit, it's never the price tag. Um, I think of it like uh, you know, if you if if you were drowning and uh lifeguard saves you, you don't pay back the lifeguard uh by learning just to swim better, right? Um no, you you do it, you learn to respect the water for sure, but you learn to live a life uh differently uh after the fact. Uh and in in reality, you're learning to be more like Jesus. And so that even though it's a short book, it's teaching us how we're meant to live in a very difficult world, in a very difficult culture.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Okay, just before we move on to 1 Chronicles, uh, let me just go ahead and read, which I think is one of the most beautiful passages here, is in um Titus chapter 3, verse number 4 through verse number 7. It says, But when God, our Savior, revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed our sins aw, he washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Okay, we understand that in regards to grace. But then it says, He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace, he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we'll inherit eternal life.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Come on.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Come on. So good. So good. Okay, so that's Titus. Yep. All right, now let's move on to uh 1 Chronicles chapter number one through 15. Let's open up and let's let's dive into it.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

Yeah, so if you've ever read 1 Kings and 2nd Kings, and then you get to 1 Chronicles, you're like, wait, didn't I just read this? Uh and I want to know, I want you to know this is actually two different perspectives on the same stories. So 1 Kings is written as first and 2nd Kings is written as the story is kind of happening towards the end of the fall, the beginning of the exile. Chronicles is written after the exile and after the return. So the children of Israel, after 70 years of captivity in Babylon, are allowed to return. And it honestly is a miraculous incident in human history. Uh the Persian king, King Cyrus, prophesied hundreds of years before by the prophet Isaiah, by name, pretty amazing, actually does what Isaiah prophesies, and he releases uh the children of Israel to go back to their home country. Amazing miracle in human history. Um, and when they come back, they are revisiting the story of their life, the story of their nation. And that is where you get first and second chronicles. So we don't know who wrote first and second chronicles. Sometimes people, uh, and I think so too, that that think that maybe Ezra is the writer uh of 1 Chronicles. It's it would kind of fit Ezra is a scribe who comes back and he's doing a lot of writing and teaching. So we'd kind of fit that Ezra would be the person that is writing this, but it's not very clear, it's not necessarily clear for us that who's written this. But whoever's writing it is someone who has come back as part of the former exiles, now rebuilding this nation. Um, and that's when you get the first nine chapters of Chronicles. It's a hard list, but it's just a whole list. It's the genealogies of the people of Israel. And it starts all the way at Adam and it goes through David and it goes to the returned exiles. Now, you have to imagine this is this for us is a boring part of scripture. Yep. We're just reading a list of names, but think about it. If you are a former exile, your family literally has been murdered and killed. You are the descendants of what remains, and you come back like this is like pulling out your family tree from a torn-down house fire, right? You we skim over it, they wept over it when they're reading this. Oh, that's good. And so that is the first nine chapters uh of Chronicles.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

That's so good. So good. There is a lot of treasures in some of those behind some of those names.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

And it's just digging up, taking time, and over I just keep being patient, reading through the scripture, yeah, and keep listening to podcasts like this and others, and you're gonna get some of them.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Come on. Uh so then that brings us to chapter 10. Chapter 10 is pretty short. It it's the it's the fall of King Saul, and that's kind of where the story picks up. It's the end of uh Saul's kingdom, Saul's reign, and it's the beginning of the Davidic dynasty. And so I want you to know that is a central theme of first and second chronicles. It's showing uh the dynasty of David, the line, the lineage of David. And that is a key point uh that we're getting into. So chapter 11 and 12, uh, we see that David is made king, um, and you also kind of see the story of his mighty men. Okay, so uh verses chapter 11, verse 1, uh down to verse 3. Pastor Rodney, if you want to read that.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Yeah. Then all Israel gathered before David at Hebron and told him, We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord your God told you, You will be the shepherd of my people, you will be the leader of my people Israel. So there at Hebron, David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel, and they anointed him king of Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

So all of Israel is united under David. And so David is unanimously, uh, not only is he anointed king by God through the prophet Samuel, he is unanimously seen and raised as king by all of Israel. Um, and right after that, David captures Jerusalem, which would be his capital city, known as the city of David, uh, which was a very important city. And right off the thing, bat, we need to notice two things. One, that this city matters to God. Now you might wonder why this is such a point uh that the chronicler is as is known is is making. Part of it is because they're coming back to rebuild this city. They're coming back to rebuild Jerusalem. And so it's important for them to realize that this city matters to God. The second uh is you see the uh an interesting list of names, uh, that these are David's mighty men, and you see one interesting person on the list in verse 41. Verse 41 names amongst all the mighty men of David. You see one name that stands out in verse 41 Uriah the Hittite.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Yeah, he keeps popping up in scripture. Yeah, he keeps showing up. And what David tried to cover up God is revealing this man is one of the great leaders. And if we know the story, the story behind that, can I give the story real quick? I think some people may know a little bit, but we'll we'll visit it is that um David, uh, when most people believe he was probably in his early 50s about this time, that uh he'd really established his kingdom, he was slowing down and felt like that, you know what, I don't have to go off to war anymore. And the Bible opens up in um the the chapter that that tells the story of his adultery with Bathsheba, of saying that in the year in the springtime when the kings go off to battle, David stayed home. So it lends into that he wasn't where he should have been. Yeah, he should have been somewhere else. He stays home for what reasons? Relax, enjoy, take it easy, comfort. Uh those things lead to temptation, it leads to his visual lust over a lady bathing. Uh that lust becomes um into action, which he invites her to come to or goes to get her. We don't know, it could be even almost an issue of rape, um, forcing her to come. But either way, she comes, whatever's going on, she comes to his place, she's brought to his place. They have sex. Uh later on, after she goes home, she says, I'm pregnant. Then the cover-up happens. He brings Uri, who is off fighting the battle where he should have been, yeah, um, is one of his great warriors, brings him back, says, Hey, just give your time off, go hang out with your wife. Here's you a little bit of spending money, go out and eat somewhere nice and go spend some time with her. And hey, go go just enjoy your wife. And uh he's hoping that he goes have sex, then send her back there, and then she finds out pregnant. Oh, but it was my child. Yeah, he's trying to cover up. He is and um he doesn't do it. He stays actually and sleeps with some of the soldiers at the uh foot of the uh palace, and he's an honorable man. Honorable man, the Bible says, and then because he is not where he should be. Yeah, he is only coming back because the king says come back, but he knows that he should be with his men fighting. Yeah. Then um David tries to get him drunk and tries to you know find another method, but it that didn't work. So eventually he sends him back and actually has him a letter written, and that letter is something that he he is carrying his death warrant. Death warrant.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

And he brings it back to Joab and hands it to him, and Joab opens it, and David instructs to be able to put him in the fiercest part close to the wall where the fighting is happening, and then have your men pull back, and then Joab, I mean, Joab, then Uriah would be caught, and uh basically David sets up his death. Yeah, and he dies. Um, and David thinks it's all covered up, but God knows. And God uses Nathan to bring to his attention initially, and then God throughout the scripture keeps bringing him up. Yeah, and then anytime in the lineage, even in the New Testament, it will list all the, and then it will say Bathsheba, have all these men, and it'll say Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. Yeah, God never forgot.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

Yeah, and it's so and you see that this is uh this is one of those things. It's uh showing that David is the Bible is so honest in that way, right? It's showing that David is such an important figure, and that's what you're gonna learn as you read Chronicles. Um, but he is flawed, and there needs to be someone else. There's gonna come someone else in his lineage that is greater than David. Uh, and so that's what we're seeing. The kingdom is united under David, uh, and it's gonna take a divide, I'm sorry, it's gonna take another Davidic figure to bring everyone together. And so the chronicle who chronicler who is writing after the exiles come back and they're rebuilding Jerusalem and they're rebuilding the lost kingdom, they're hoping for another David-like person, knowing that the even the David that they had is uh a partial figure, uh a flawed character, right? Uh then you come to uh verse 13, 15, and that is the bringing of the ark. Now, this story is interesting. Uh, it's they try it the first time, uh, and a guy named Uzzah, they basically they copy the Philistines' way of bringing the ark. So when the Philistines captured the ark, uh, when it was lost in battle, um, they realized they can't keep it because their gods keep falling apart, right? And so they try to put it in the temple of their god and their god is destroyed. So they say, No, we can't do this. They're they're all getting sick and plagues because they have the ark and they're not supposed to have it. So they send it back, and so they send it back the best way they could, and when they put it on a cart uh with a you know, with an ox pulling it, and that's how they send it back. So when David tries to bring the ark into the city of David, into Jerusalem, um he tries to do it the way the Philistines did, which is not the way that was written in the law of Moses, right? Was not the way the Bible instructs it. To. And so when that happens, Uzzah dies. Uh, he's the guy who reaches out and touches the ark. Uh, he dies, and so David kind of pauses, takes a few months to think about it. He realizes uh that God is wanting him to bring the ark, so he brings the ark back in. But this time uh he does it differently. So chapter 15, verse 12 through 15, Pastor, if you want to read that.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

Okay. And he said to them, Lord, you are the leaders of the Levite families. You must purify yourselves and all your fellow Levites, so you can bring the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. Because you Levites did not carry the ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against you, us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly. So the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to bring the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to Jerusalem. Then the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with their carrying poles, just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

That's right. So this reminds us that you know God can do anything. God could have brought the ark on a fiery chariot, you know, magically, whatever, into Jerusalem. But God desires to work through order and structure, right? So that is why this the chronicler is trying to remember, remind the people that God is bound to his covenant, what he presented through Moses. He loves the covenant and he is bound to that covenant. So the law matters to God, the land matters to God, the lineage matters to God, because he is a covenant God. And so that's why that should give us so much comfort as believers. Because when God makes a promise to us in scripture, when Jesus says to us uh in Matthew, and I am with you always, right, or I will never leave you or forsake you, he is speaking covenant language. Yes, he is. And God works through covenant. Yes, he is. And so if you work with God in his covenant, right, you will experience the blessing. And for us as New Testament believers, the new covenant believers, our part is if we serve the kingdom, God will provide for us, he will take care of us, right? We serve in his covenant structure. There's going to be blessing on the other side for us. But I also want to say this because I think sometimes people uh kind of put down the old testament God, you know, like old testament God was mean. Why'd he do this? You actually see that repentance and even this coming back was actually in the Old Testament. I've heard you talking about it. Moses, right, in Deuteronomy 30, when he talks about uh in the future, you will experience all these blessings and cursings. And when you sin and God exiles you into a foreign nation, and then you repent and come back, God will be with you when you repent. Or uh even when Solomon is dedicating the temple, he does the very same thing. He says, Hey, your children when they sin and they're exiled into a foreign country, when they turn and pray towards his temple, hear their prayer. When they come back, like when they come and repent, repentance was part of God's covenant structure, even in the old testament, in the old covenant. And so it helps us realize that God isn't this cruel, vengeful, trying to whatever in the old testament. No, he's the same God, right? We have a better covenant because God Himself ushers it. It's not tied to just Moses or David. No, the covenant he ushers in through Jesus is God Himself becoming man. That's why we have a better covenant.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Yeah, that is really good because I think that there is a temptation to believe that there's a God was meaner in the Old Testament and he had like a conversion experience. God's not like man. No, he's he doesn't change, he is the same yesterday, today, forever. He's a God of mercy in the Old Testament, God of mercy in the New Testament, but he also there's judgment in the Old Testament and judgment in the New Testament. That's right. Okay, so that wraps us up with um Kings, doesn't it? Yep, yep. Okay, our chronicles. I mean, beginning part of the chronicles. So the chronicles we did uh so wow covering a lot. We are covering a lot. Okay, here we go. Let's go into Psalm chapter number 84 and 85, right? Yep. Okay, so first off, it's important to note that Psalms 84 and 85 were written by who? Okay, the sons or the descendants of Korah. Okay, again, who is Korah? Korra was um one of David's handpicked guys to uh be responsible for music. Obviously, David was very gifted. David was it's kind of like you on staff, your your initial role at North Church back when you were a kiddo was what video director. Your video director. So well, actually, actually, your first role was just more of like a contract labor a little bit, and then you became video direct well, you're video director, and then so you kind of led that and you did that, and you're very gifted in it. And so you have not been in that role for what 13, 14 years? 14 years, yeah. Yeah, 14 years because you moved on into kids and then other then groups, just you've covered a lot of different things at North Church. Um, but you still um get your hands in on video all the time because you're gifted that area. Yeah, that's where you were you trained yourself early on, yeah, and you still kind of work with people. Yeah, and so David was very gifted in music, writing, singing, playing, none like him. Yeah, but he also had his hands on help picking people and training people, and Korah was one of those. And then Korah's descendants, and it went on for generationally. Um, and so you find Psalms 84 and 85 were written by them. So Psalms 84 specifically is the theme is joy, it's about the privilege of worship and honoring God, it's about the blessing of dwelling in God's presence. We've talked about the the Ark of the Covenant in Chronicles and being brought back. Uh, so that's one thing that really separated uh Saul from David. Yeah, you never find in before Saul became king, the Ark of the Covenant was uh well, it was uh lost in in um in battle. Yeah. Uh but one of David's first things that he wanted to bring back was the ark, yeah. To bring back Saul never pursued that. Yeah, Saul never went after, and the ark represented the presence of God, yeah, and which speaks the absence of the presence of God leads to nothing good in our life, and more of the presence of God. That's why I encourage people to be at church, not just sit and listen to a podcast, be with the people of God, be in the presence of God, be there at the start of an experience early, yeah, as you get seated, you get ready so that when the first note is played that you're in you're enjoying a part of the worship of God. So Psalms um 84 speaks of the passion of God's presence. Notice that it says in one of the verses, how lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts, how lovely, how lovely. What was so lovely about it? Actually, right here at the initial at the writings of uh some of this would have been no temple. Yeah, and so it wasn't that wasn't that lovely as far as the structure of it. What was lovely was the people of God in the presence of God. That's right. That's what made it lovely. Okay. Um of the key things is the greatest treasure in life is not what God provides, but God Himself. Yeah. When we talk about the presence of God, that's what we're talking about. Um also it's about the strength for the journey. The more you're in the presence of God, the more you're gonna have the strength for the journey that is available. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee, he says in verses number five, verse is it verse five? Um Blessed is the man whose strength in the verse five. Yes, that's a beautiful passage there. In other words, the more you spend time in God's presence, the more you are built up to be able to handle whatever uh the enemy may throw your way. And so those who depend on God find strength even in seasons of sorrow, seasons of drought, seasons of difficulty. And then the blessings of God um is about favor. Um, read that famous verse about a day in the courts of the Lord is better than what? Go ahead and read that.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

Absolutely. Verse 10, uh, it says, A single day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

A single day. What was he saying? What was he trying to communicate? The value and the beauty of being in the presence of God and remembering that moment. Here's what I do know. I can relate to that because there's been moments in the presence of God that has changed my whole life. Yeah, and to right now, I'm sitting here right now, I'm able to deal with circumstances, situations because of a moment that I had whenever I was a teenager in the presence of God, in the house of God. And it's not just been those one times, I've had multiple ones, but there's been significant moments that has shaped, forged me, formed me into the person I am right now. And so one of the key things to note here is that nothing compares to the privilege of living in God's presence and under his favor. And we must not take that lightly. It is very important to understand. Yeah, we gotta love God's presence. We we gotta trust God through the valleys that being in his presence is the answer. We got to value God above everything else in life. Yeah, so that's kind of 80 four. 85 um really continues uh with the thought of um it's a prayer for national revival. Yeah, it's a call out to God. So let's look at that for just a little bit and restoration. And again, written by the descendants of Korah. Um he opens up, read read verse number one through verse number three of Psalm um 85. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Lord, you poured out your uh you poured out blessing on your land, you restored the fortunes of Israel, you forgave the guilt of your people. Yes, you covered all their sins.

SPEAKER_00 33:01

So the psalmist is recalling one God's favor that they that is evident, God's forgiveness, God's mercy, and then God's removal of wrath and sparing them. And it's about remembering God's faithfulness that builds faith for our present needs.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

So a lot of times my present struggle and hope in that moment is found through remembering what God has done. And that's what's going on. When facing difficult seasons, begin by remembering what God has already done in your life. Okay. And then secondly, he really begins to lay down there that we got to ask God to restore you. Read verse four through seven.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

There we go. Now restore us again, O God of our salvation. Put aside your anger against us once more. You will you be angry with us always? Will you prolong your wrath to all generations? Won't you revive us again so that your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. I listen carefully to what God, uh the Lord, is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people, but let them not return to their foolish ways.

SPEAKER_00 34:21

These psalms are just so good, just to set and meditate on and to pray through. When you read, let it become prayers. Come on. You begin to pray them too as you're praying. They're praying for restoration here. We're praying for revival, praying again for God's mercy, like in the earlier verses. And it's also mentioning God's unfailing love. Revival begins when God's people recognize their need for Him. It's really just recognizing I need God. And God is willing to revive hearts that are humbly submitted to Him. Okay, then I'm gonna wrap up here. I can go through the whole chapter, but uh read verse 8 and 9, because this is about learning to listen to God's voice.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying, for he speaks his peace to his faithful people, but let them not return to their foolish ways. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

So this is about if we're gonna really experience revival, we're gonna grow in him, we've got to hear God's voice, we've got to walk in peace, we've got to turn from our foolish ways. And God speaks peace, hope, love to those who listen to him. And again, I mean we mentioned this in one of the earlier podcasts is that to listen means to obey.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Revival is not merely emotional experiences. Yeah, it begins by hearing and obeying God. And so people talk about always, man, we need to pray for revival. We got revival. Oftentimes, the ideas that they have in their head is centered on an experience that they maybe had years ago, or think about that there's a certain emotional experience it gives them, and this is revival. And I'm not taking away emotional experiences because we are very much rooted into a tradition of um believing that an experience with God is very important, crying, jumping, celebrating, dancing before the Lord is very much a part of that. But that alone is not a sign of revival. Yeah, the real signs of revival are transformation, it is obedience. Come on. It's actually doing something with what we know. Yeah, and when that's happening, revival is happening. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

Come on. Obedience.

SPEAKER_00 36:42

Obedience. And then, of course, um I said we're gonna stop there, but let's go ahead and read one more. Let's go read 10 through verse number 13. Let's read the whole chapter.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

Okay, here we go. Unfailing love and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest. Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps. I love it. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 37:16

He says, Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed. That is a beautiful picture of what God wants to do. Love and truth, kissing, righteousness and peace, salvation and blessing. Where God reigns, righteousness and peace flourish. Beautiful picture of God's grace. Absolutely. Okay. Come on. And then uh let's let's let's move on to chapter number 15 of the book of Proverbs. Okay. Again, what I want to do is wrap up with just simply reading one verse that I wrote. Actually, I wrote this down, June 28, 2025. And I can go back for many for several years now and pull these out, but I just pulled this one out. And verse number four of chapter 15, will you read it?

SPEAKER_01 38:09

Yep. Gentle words are a tree of life, a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

Man, James talks a lot about words. Yeah. How we gotta guard our words, how it's a it's it's it's a poison. It is an untamely beast. That the only really hope is surrender to the Holy Spirit. Yeah. And that all of us struggle with our tongues, saying the right things in the right way, at the right time, whatever it may be. So I wrote down just two words, gentle words. And here's what I wrote. How you say what you say is every bit as important as what you say. Our words should reflect a kind, caring, clear, honest, and hopeful heart. They should edify and encourage others without neglecting truth. Our speech matters because people matter. And what we say must most reflects our relationship with Yahweh. So guard what comes out of your mouth, come on, knowing that it brings either life or death. Come on.

SPEAKER_01 39:23

Amen. That's it. That's it. That's why the most important thing we say is God's word.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

Come on. Any any final thoughts for us? No, I I love that. You know, I when I was in uh our dean would always say this word. He says, uh, a butcher and a surgeon both use a knife. They use it differently. And that is the power of our tongue, and it's the power of God's word. How we say things matter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:52

It does, it does. Hey, again, thank you for joining us. We'll look forward to seeing you this weekend. I am excited about what God is doing through these podcasts. Let us know. Give us some feedback. Love, like, share, uh, subscribe. Encourage others to follow along with us and let us all learn together until next time on North Bible weekend.