WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:01.600 Good morning. 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:08.080 So you may know that that song was written by a uh slave trader. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:24.480 And it was late in his life, and he just couldn't believe that God would have that much grace and that much love, that someone like him would just uh be loved and accepted by Jesus and our Father. 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:31.440 And he released the slaves, of course, um, and was overwhelmed by the whole experience. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:40.479 Well, a few years ago, there was a movie, Amazing Grace, that was being made, and they asked Chris Tomlin to write a kind of a revision of the song. 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:48.640 And so he added that chorus, and it was from both the slaves and the slave owners' perspective that their chains are off. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:50.560 I've been set free. 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:52.960 You know, it's just a wonderful song. 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:58.880 I think this week where we're talking about freedom and uh thinking about uh America and those types of things. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:03.600 I mean, the freedom we have in Jesus, I mean, truly is amazing. 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.439 And um, it's also amazing to live in this country. 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:32.799 I think that when we get to heaven, we're gonna see that of all people to be born, you know, even with all of our struggles that we all have, probably right now and through our lives, to be born in a time where Jesus has already come and in a country like America that we really are, no matter our situation, uh the most uh blessed people ever. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:39.439 And so if you've been part of His Hands for a while, you've probably heard me go on uh a rant or two. 00:01:39.760 --> 00:02:00.640 Um But you know, as Christians, it's it's good to be concerned about America and and to pray and to vote and influence and do whatever we can to keep God as as a um priority in the country. 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:06.319 But our overwhelming emotion should not be fear, it should be thankfulness. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:08.639 Um it just should be thankfulness. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:12.319 I mean, what to have freedom, even to even to be free as people. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:20.240 I mean, almost no one percentage-wise, who's ever lived, has enjoyed freedom like we do. 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:29.280 And so I'm just uh and the other thing is a country, you know, we think it's getting worse and worse and worse and worse, but in many ways it's just getting better, better, and better. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:39.840 And we'll make the right choices, and we will stay um, we will keep God at the forefront of our country, and we will just get better and better as people. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:43.280 And so on the 4th of July, which is Wednesday, we're gonna celebrate. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:51.439 Um great blessing to to live in this country, and we're gonna all hang out together and and have fun, uh, have food. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:03:03.439 We're gonna um cordon off, I guess, the this side of the parking lot to the left of the sidewalk if you're facing the front, and set up chairs and tents and grills and anything we want there. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:08.479 And we're gonna try to leave uh all the spaces to the right of that, you know, for cars. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:11.919 Sometimes we might take our chairs and set them up next to our cars or behind our cars. 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:13.599 We're gonna try to just have cars there. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:19.919 That'll make it be a lot safer for the kids, and uh it'll be uh fun being all together. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.240 And so come whenever you want on the fourth. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:25.439 We'll have music, food, and uh the building be open. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:32.080 So more than anything, we'll have air conditioning and good restrooms, and uh that'll be uh a great time together. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:36.560 Uh there's still time to help uh the kids with the the give a kid a chance. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:52.960 You know, we um there's a list at the info desk, and you can take one, you can buy a backpack filled up with school supplies, and it helps the children in the area who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to have uh school supplies, and it's a great blessing for the um parents and a real joy for the kids. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.120 And it's one of the simplest things I think that that we do. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:02.240 We can just grab a list and fill up the backpack, and then you can bring it back on the 4th of July if you would like. 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:09.520 Um, one other thing on the 4th of July, you know, because we're a volunteer church, anytime we do anything, uh even fun things, it takes a lot of help. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.400 And so I know a lot of you are helping on Wednesday, so thank you very much for that. 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:17.279 All right, let's pray. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:19.279 Father, we just praise you. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:24.399 Thank you for being such a great God, for adopting us as your very own children, for loving us. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:27.519 We can call you Abba Father, Daddy Father. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.399 Holy Spirit, we thank you for being our counselor and our teacher. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:36.160 And please teach us each this morning that we'd all leave with something we know that was for us and from you. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:42.959 And Jesus, we just praise you for being our Savior, for showing us what our Father is like, and for being our friend. 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:44.560 And it's in your name we pray. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:45.519 Amen. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:47.600 It's a little warm-up here. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:51.279 I think we didn't design the air conditioning for 105 uh degrees. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:52.959 So I can't prepare it. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:55.199 I'm gonna go TD Jake's here, I think, with you. 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:05.199 So we took a break in June, and I really appreciate both Ben and Ken being here in June, uh, both of them. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:08.959 It was just so encouraging and such a a good time having them here. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:11.439 But we're kind of in the middle of studying this little book. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:19.600 It's only 25 pages long in my Bible, but it's a book that God gave us so we can have a great life, so we can live uh great lives. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:28.319 Um there's some of the most life-changing, most practical, everyday you know, type of uh wisdom in this book. 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:29.519 And it makes a big claim. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:32.639 It says in Proverbs 3, wisdom is more precious than rubies. 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.519 Nothing you desire can compare with her. 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:40.800 She offers you long life in her right hand and riches and honor in her left. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:46.480 Proverbs 4 10 says, My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.399 Proverbs 19 it says, To acquire wisdom is to love oneself. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:54.800 People who cherish understanding will prosper. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:01.199 And there's a reason Solomon spends most of the first four chapters trying to build the desire for wisdom. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:08.000 Because we we kind of really have to want it, because uh we're gonna be asked to make choices, and a lot of the choices are difficult. 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:29.680 You know, so we've got to keep our eyes focused on the goal and the benefit and to really want to live wise um lives, be able to live a life where we're uh have a close relationship with God, where we have great friends, where we have close families, where we have health, where we have enough money uh to live and to and to share. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:35.040 You know, in a life where we can walk out how God uniquely created each of us to be. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:39.040 And it's not unspiritual to want a great life. 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:48.560 I mean, God wants us to have a great life, or he wouldn't have taken the time and trouble to preserve what he taught Solomon in the book of Proverbs. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.600 I read a book a couple weeks ago, it was called The Noticer. 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:57.680 It was a book by a guy named Andy Andrews, and there's just one statement in uh in this book. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:04.480 The main character says to have wisdom is the ability to see into the future. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:13.279 The ability to know what our what will be the outcome of our actions and our choices. 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.759 I never really thought about it that way, but I really like that. 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:27.759 That to have God's wisdom is the ability for us literally to see into the future, know what we do today, what the outcome uh will be down the road. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:42.959 Knowing what will happen if uh I take this new job, what will happen if I marry this person, what will happen if I have an affair, what happens if I'm generous, what happens if I'm selfish? 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:49.680 And we've all experienced that, I think, for someone else, where someone shares an idea and we know that's just a really bad idea. 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:57.279 Um, but they do it anyway, and you watch just like it's a slow train wreck, you know, to what was the obvious outcome. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:59.360 Um I've experienced that. 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:11.839 I've also experienced being on the other side of that equation where uh someone has given me wise advice that I've ignored, and they got to watch the slow train wreck and the outcome. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:22.800 So if we've ever wished that we could see into the future to know what was going to happen in our lives, one way is to learn God's wisdom, to absorb God's wisdom. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:25.199 And we've made some choices together already. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:34.399 We we chose to seek wisdom, we chose to work hard, we chose to choose our words, we chose to choose our friends. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:40.320 And this morning we get to choose an amazing tool that'll help us live a complete and rewarding life. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.799 And this choice is to develop self-control. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:47.519 Bummer, huh? 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:53.600 I mean, we had a hard week, we come together, and now we're gonna get reminded we don't have self-control. 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:55.840 I don't think it's gonna be like that. 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:58.320 I think it's gonna be actually good and life-giving. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:06.720 Proverbs 16 says, better to be patient than powerful, better to have self-control than to conquer a city. 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:14.320 So before we get to self-control, we kind of need to set, I think, the context. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:20.399 There's two or three sections of verses in the Bible that I really relate to. 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:28.720 One is where uh Jesus asks the man if he believes, and he says, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.240 You know, I can really relate to that, to how he feels. 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:38.399 And the other is Paul, Paul describing himself, and he does that in Romans 7. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:54.240 And he says, This what I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise, so if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:57.120 But I need something more. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:05.200 For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:07.679 I realize that I don't have what it takes. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.320 I can will it, but I can't do it. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:14.000 I decide to do good, but I don't really do it. 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:17.679 I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.759 My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:27.279 Something has gone wrong deep within me, and it gets the better of me every time. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:30.320 It happens so regularly that it's predictable. 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:34.000 The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:39.360 I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious not all of me joins in that delight. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:45.039 Part of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:47.600 I've tried everything and nothing helps. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:49.440 I'm at the end of my rope. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:52.480 Is there no one who can do anything for me? 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:54.720 Isn't that the real question? 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:58.720 Has anybody ever felt like that? 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:06.720 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:17.600 He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but I'm pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:21.919 The answer is a relationship with Jesus. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:23.120 It changes everything. 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:38.320 Not not performing, not a bunch of rules that people came up with, but a real relationship with Jesus, where he strengthens us from the inside out, where he changes us, where he helps us. 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:45.759 But we still have to make choices. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:48.240 Now we can do that with God's help. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:55.679 And so when we're studying wisdom, it's not like, hey, we just need a bunch of head knowledge, and if we can figure all this out, everything's gonna be good. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:00.879 No, the most important thing is that we have Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit and we have God's help. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:06.799 Then we have the strength and the ability to make these right choices and to apply them in our life. 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:16.480 Bill Heibel has a book on God's wisdom, and there's a chapter on self-control, and he shares a component of self-control that to me was kind of an epiphany. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:18.559 I'd never thought about it this way. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:25.840 Um, and it's one secret to living a self-controlled, or we might say, a self-disciplined life. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:29.039 And so think, if you will, real quick, just what that might be. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:37.360 What would be, other than God, the one secret to living a self-controlled life? 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:46.720 It is having big goals. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:49.279 Now who had that? 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:52.080 Wow, two or three. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.080 The rest of us, it's why it's a secret. 00:12:54.399 --> 00:13:03.039 But um it is having big goals, big dreams, big hopes. 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:08.000 Anyone running the peach tree on Wednesday? 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:10.960 Anybody run it for the first time? 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:13.279 You're gonna love it. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:17.440 I ran it for the first time on July 4th, 1997. 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:27.440 I sent in my uh application, I got a number, and uh so June, I thought maybe I should run a little bit. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:36.799 And so I went outside and and I took off down the street, and I couldn't make it down the street. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:43.200 Literally, I could not make it to the next stop sign without having to stop and catch my breath. 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:55.519 And so I ran a few times a week that month, you know, and I got up to where I could maybe run for about 35, 40 minutes without stopping if I ran slow. 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:57.759 Um, running wasn't really the right term. 00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:59.120 It was something below a jog. 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:02.080 But if I ran slow, I could do that. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:10.399 And so I get to the starting line at the peach tree, and it's a it's a really a great experience. 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:11.440 There's all types of people. 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:22.240 There are men, women, different ages, different nationalities, uh, but everyone was unified by one common thing, which was they could all run faster than me. 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:27.919 And so we start, you know, and I get about a mile in, and I'm actually feeling pretty good. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:32.240 Um, and then the firefighter with all his gear on comes running past me. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:46.879 And then the guy dressed up like the Statue of Liberty flies by, and then the two guys in full business suits with wingtip shoes come by, and then the the grandma and her grandkids. 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:53.840 If it wasn't for the other 50,000 people, I would have done really, really well. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:15:05.840 But I did finally finish, and I was so mad at myself for being that out of shape, I decided I was gonna do something kind of big to make up for it. 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.440 So I decided that I was gonna run a marathon before the end of the year. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:13.840 I know this isn't wisdom, but anyway, that was the decision. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.799 And I asked a couple of friends to join me, and so I started running. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:28.799 I'd get up Monday through Thursday, I'd be outside at 6, you know, I'd run an hour each of those days, and on the weekend I'd do a long run that got, you know, uh increasingly longer. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:39.039 And I signed up for a couple 10Ks to give me some motivation, and then there was uh the half marathon, the land of half marathon on Thanksgiving Day. 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:52.559 And so December 10th of that year, I'd lost 20 pounds, was in the best shape of my life, and ran the Rocket City Marathon, which is in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:15:52.799 --> 00:16:01.039 And it was uh snowing that day, the wind was blowing 30 miles an hour, which was kind of it tricked me because the first half of the race, the wind was behind me, I didn't know it. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:03.200 And so I thought, man, I'm really in shape. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:06.799 But then when you turn to go back the other way, it was pretty ugly. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:10.639 But half the people in the race dropped out and didn't finish. 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:12.720 But but my friend and I did. 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:22.159 And to get from July 4th to December 10th, it took a lot of self-control. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:30.480 It took a lot of self-discipline, it took doing something almost every single day. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:33.120 And so which came first? 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:37.279 The self-discipline or the goal? 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:42.799 It was the goal, it was the goal that came first. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:49.200 For me, it took a big goal, and the and the self-control followed. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:51.519 Susan and I used to be pretty bad with our money. 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:59.039 I mean, not epic bad, but we just spent about 10% more than I made every um every month. 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:00.720 And so eventually that caught up. 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:08.400 And we had these big credit card bills, and we had one car and it was falling apart, and it was kind of a crisis. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:14.079 And so we decided that we just had to start handling money, our money God's way. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:22.799 And so to us, that meant giving part of it to church and to and to other things, and it also meant getting out of debt. 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:28.720 And so we decided that we were gonna get totally out of debt, totally debt-free. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:31.920 We wouldn't owe anything on anything. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:46.160 And so I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but we did what I'm sure some of us have done, which is the uh like a debt snowball, where we took a credit card with the highest interest rate on it, uh, we changed our lifestyle, and we started paying off that card. 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:51.119 And as soon as we got that one paid off, we added that payment to the one with the next highest interest rate. 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:55.200 And we kept doing it, we had a lot of cards, so by it kept building like a snowball. 00:17:55.440 --> 00:18:03.200 And um by the time we were done with the credit cards, we had more than enough to make an extra payment on our house each month. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:10.400 And so eventually we paid off our house and we got completely out of debt. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:23.279 And later we had a business that was successful, but this was way before then, you know, and it took a big lifestyle change, and and and it wasn't that hard, it was kind of fun and exciting. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:27.119 And the thing is, we had never been able to live in a budget. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:36.880 We had tried lots of times, but the time that we committed to a big goal, we were able to do it. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:42.559 We were able to stop eating out as much, we were able to cut back and and live different. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:46.000 But the thing is we didn't have the discipline. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:51.440 We didn't have the self-control until we had the big goal. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:19:01.920 There's something about committing to something important and believing that with God all things are possible that infuses self-control. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.000 It infuses self-discipline when we've never had it before. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:10.799 We could call it a goal, we could call it a dream, a hope. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:12.480 It can be anything. 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:19.680 You know, what if we didn't settle for our marriages, you know, like our goal just being, you know, I just hope we can just get along. 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:22.160 You know, I hope we just don't have a divorce. 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:26.319 You know, what if it is we want to be head over hills in love with each other? 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.119 You know, what if it is if we want to really know each other? 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.839 You know, have the type of relationship that we're so transparent. 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:34.720 We know everything about each other, the good, the bad. 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:35.839 But we don't care. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:37.119 We love each other. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:45.359 You know, if that's our goal, it's easier to do the little things every day that make a big difference. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.119 If the goal, if the dream, if the hope is big. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:57.839 Jesus says, I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it would move. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:00.480 Nothing would be impossible. 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:04.240 Now, Jesus' point isn't about moving physical mountains. 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:11.440 You know, if I prayed for Kennesaw Mountain to move into Lake Alatuna, it's probably a bad idea. 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.000 You know, I'm sure some bad things would happen. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:15.200 It's probably not gonna happen. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:20.000 What Jesus is talking about is that we have a big God. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:24.480 You know, we don't need big faith. 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:29.440 We have a big God. 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:36.799 We can believe for big things, we can do big things, us and God together. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:49.440 When Mary told, well, it was when the angel Gabriel told Mary that uh she was going to become pregnant with Jesus, she said, There's no way. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:51.359 There's just no way. 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:58.079 And he said that nothing is impossible with God. 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:03.519 We can have big hopes, we can have big dreams. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:09.279 One small clarifier, a big idea is not necessarily a good idea. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.720 And so I think you all know what I'm talking about. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:17.359 Some we can sometimes go off on a fantasy that isn't really a dream. 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:23.200 But um we're talking about wisdom, and so we just have to run it through that filter. 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:29.519 You know, the other things that Proverbs teaches us about seeking advice and and planning things out. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:37.200 But with that said, big hopes, big dreams, big goals are great. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:42.400 And one of the things they do is they infuse self-control. 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.519 They infuse self-discipline. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:53.839 Proverbs ten twenty-eight says, the hopes of the godly result in happiness. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.119 There's another part of self-control or or self-discipline. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:07.680 Proverbs 24, 27 says, Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:15.680 Okay, that would have been a very impactful proverb in Solomon's day because they lived in an agricultural economy. 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.960 And preparing a field was the hard work. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:24.240 During the summers in high school, I had a couple uh jobs. 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:29.119 One was pretty impressive and high profile, uh, working at the skating rink. 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:33.920 And um the other was I worked on a farm. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:42.400 And I would get up in the morning, and from sun up until the end of the day, my job was to move irrigation pipe. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:47.039 And it's physically the hardest job that I've ever had. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:52.160 And that was working in a field that had already been prepared. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.599 In Solomon's day, they first had to plan. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:56.480 Okay, they had to field. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:57.359 Now they got to plan. 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:58.480 What are they gonna grow? 00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:02.480 What's what's a the, you know, how are they gonna arrange the fields? 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:05.440 How are they gonna get water to the crops? 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.559 Then they would prepare the land. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.079 You know, without a tractor. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:12.640 You know, preparing a land means trees. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:17.599 You gotta move trees, you gotta move boulders, you gotta move rocks by hand. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:21.039 And then you plow, and then you plant. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:28.400 When that's done, God says, think about your house. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:32.240 See, the house is the part that you'd enjoy. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:37.519 You know, the part where you would sleep, the part where you would entertain, the part where you'd have parties. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:43.759 Do your planning, prepare your fields before building your house. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:24:02.240 And so living a life with self-control and self-discipline means living a life where we have delayed gratification, where we wait, where we save for a vacation instead of putting it on the credit card and we'll pay it off later. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:08.079 Where we drive the car we can afford, and and maybe we can get the one we want later. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:11.440 It's also holding out for a better reward. 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:16.559 You know, when we wait, often the reward is better. 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:21.440 It uh Jesus talked about it. 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:27.519 He was encouraging people to uh he's somehow doing good where people can see, you know. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:38.000 So if you're if you're giving or if you're praying or if you're fasting, and part of you wants people to notice that and think well about you, he says, well, that's your reward. 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:44.640 But if you're not doing that, if you're doing it in private and you're really seeking God, he says, God will reward you. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:50.160 You know, it's delayed gratification, but it's a a big reward. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:25:02.240 I read that delaying gratification is just really getting the pain out of the way first, and so you can really enjoy the fun and pleasure later. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.799 And so all through the Bible, there are people that can await. 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.880 You might remember Abraham and Sarah. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:12.000 God promised them uh a child, but they got kind of panicked about it because they didn't think it was gonna happen. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:17.119 And so uh Abraham slept with the with a woman that worked for him. 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:19.599 And I mean, it didn't go well. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:30.799 In fact, it was a world-changing decision, what came out of that relationship, what came out of them not waiting to see God work. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:33.759 Same thing happened with Saul, who was when he was the king of Israel. 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:39.359 Samuel the prophet said that they needed to make a sacrifice, but he asked Saul to wait till he got there. 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:43.200 But then Samuel got panicked and he decided he better do it himself. 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:49.440 And just, I mean, as he makes the sacrifice, Samuel came around the corner. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:55.119 If he could only have waited, it changed Saul's life. 00:25:55.359 --> 00:26:00.400 You know, Saul might have been David, had a life like that. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:05.119 If you just waited, if you just waited for a bigger reward. 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:21.839 I don't need to go to Bible characters, honestly, to understand this principle, because there's been so many times in my life I look back and like, man, if I just waited, why did I, you know, have to have that right then, or do that right then, or whatever it was. 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:30.640 God just wants us to wait, to delay that gratification. 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:37.680 It's one of the keys to being wise, to having a wise life, to having a good life, to having a great life. 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:40.880 And it's tough to do, but but that's why we need God. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:44.640 If we make that choice, he can help us do it. 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:51.440 The third way to have more self-control is to decide first, is to decide things first. 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:59.599 You know, if you read Proverbs all the way through, and it's not that long, and I've been doing that every week, just start to begin and read it through. 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:01.039 It's it's really shocking. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.759 Uh, I guess shocking is probably not the right word. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:15.200 You can't help but notice how often the Proverb is about avoiding sexual sin and sexual mess ups and ruining your life over something uh sexual. 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:20.880 And and what Proverbs says to do is to decide first. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:26.559 You know, in that in that time, Solomon's time, prostitution was a very common thing. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:34.319 And and Proverbs says, you know, if you live in a city and there's a prostitute, don't go down the street. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:37.200 Don't even walk on that street. 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:39.359 Don't go near the house. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:43.599 Because if you do, you know, you might you might be tempted. 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:47.920 And so the way to have self-control is make that decision first. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.599 Don't go anywhere near it. 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:56.480 Don't put ourselves in situations that are gonna be tough for us to uh control. 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:02.000 You know, and it's uh that concept that really works on anything. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:06.079 You know, if we're working on our weight, we might not want to go to Golden Corral. 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:11.440 You know, the uh chocolate wonderfall might start calling our name. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:21.200 Job said somebody was accusing him of sexual misconduct. 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:30.720 And Job said, that is not possible because I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.039 In other words, he decided first. 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:34.160 He wasn't gonna go there. 00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:38.960 He wasn't gonna start down some track that was gonna end up ruining his life. 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:40.880 He had to decide first. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.440 And deciding first doesn't mean, you know, just deciding about things that might be destructive. 00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:50.559 We're not gonna go there, we're not gonna do that, we're not gonna entertain those thoughts. 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:54.720 Um, you know, it can be something that's that's good, something life-giving. 00:28:54.880 --> 00:29:24.559 Uh last September 11th, there was, I may have told this before, it all kinds of kind of runs together, but there was a uh memorial because it was the 10-year anniversary of 9-11, and there was a gentleman who was in downtown Woodstock in the little park there, and the gentleman, there was a gentleman talking and about his grandfather, who was a World War II vet, and just how much he admired his his granddad and about their relationship. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:28.480 And as he's talking about it, he starts uh crying. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:32.720 And he's telling about a time, and his granddad had died earlier that year. 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:40.480 And he's telling about a time when he turned 13 that his grandfather took him on a um a cross-country trip together. 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:48.160 And, you know, as he was talking, as he was finishing talking, I had a grandbaby just two months before then. 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:51.200 You know, and so I made a decision. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:56.640 I decided right then that that's the kind of relationship I wanted with Brighton. 00:29:56.720 --> 00:29:58.400 That's how I wanted him to feel about me. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:03.599 That's how I wanted him to remember our relationship someday. 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:06.640 You know, so I started planning our trip. 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:10.160 You know, it's just making decisions, deciding first. 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.599 It could be any kind of decision. 00:30:11.680 --> 00:30:14.319 It could be, you know, having a date night and sticking to it. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:17.920 You know, it could be I'm gonna pray with my child every night before they go to go to sleep. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:23.039 You know, it could be I'm gonna be generous with what God gives me no matter what. 00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:24.720 But we can decide now. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.319 We can decide first. 00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:39.440 And one last benefit of self-control is it doesn't just create greater fun, which it does, it doesn't just create greater rewards, which it does, but it also protects us from harm. 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:46.319 Proverbs 25 says, a person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls. 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:49.519 You might remember when we were talking about Nehemiah. 00:30:49.759 --> 00:30:56.640 You know, the amazing thing that he accomplished when he took it upon himself and then asked God to help him to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem. 00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:58.559 They had to have that wall. 00:30:58.799 --> 00:31:00.720 Without that wall, they were unprotected. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:02.160 They could not prosper. 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:06.559 They could not be a great city, they had to have a wall. 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:11.920 A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls. 00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:22.240 Proverbs talks about inappropriate sex, drinking too much, financial decisions, ignoring our parents, anger, laziness, instant gratification. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:29.599 Sometimes when we read the Bible, we feel like God's trying to restrict us, trying to limit us. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:33.519 But without exception, it's the absolute opposite. 00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:36.559 God is trying to give us a great life. 00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:48.160 He's trying to protect us from screwing up and help us to live the unique, wonderful life that He has for every single one of us. 00:31:49.440 --> 00:31:52.000 He wants us to have everything that He's planned for us. 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:57.759 And self-control is something to embrace, you know, something to be thankful for. 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:01.839 Something to aspire to, ask God to help us with. 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:14.559 And the cool thing is that when we do things God's way and in God's timing, with God's help, we can look forward to our dreams coming true. 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:20.400 Proverbs 10, 28 says, the hopes of the godly result in happiness. 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:24.720 Proverbs 13, 12 says, a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:29.359 Proverbs 23 says, Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:31.279 You will be rewarded for this. 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:35.440 Your hope will not be disappointed. 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:39.920 So we can think big, we can hope big. 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:45.440 Dream big with God. 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:50.240 So today we choose self-control. 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:56.720 You know, we'll accomplish big things because we have a big God and He created us in His image. 00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:59.759 Today we choose to wait for the best reward. 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:05.200 To prepare our fields now, we can enjoy our house later. 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:08.799 And we're now protected from harm. 00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:13.839 We're positioned to be everything our loving Father created us to be. 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:17.680 Because today we choose self-control. 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:21.920 And so if the worship team will come up, we'll stop there. 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:26.559 Let's uh let's stand and get ready for the last song that we're gonna sing together. 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:40.960 So we're spending 11 weeks, and really I would say we're just uh absorbing God's wisdom. 00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:43.039 And it's gonna be life-changing for all of us. 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:45.759 It's been so amazing for me. 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:53.359 Um just how some of the things we're talking about is already impacting what I do and what I say and what I think. 00:33:53.440 --> 00:34:01.599 But in 1 Corinthians 1, it says, Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:13.119 I mean, the best choice is choosing Jesus, trusting him, not as a system of rules, not as a belief system, trusting Jesus, the person, the Son of God. 00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:15.280 You know, and it's so simple to do that. 00:34:15.360 --> 00:34:16.960 We can do that in our own words, in our own way. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:26.159 Jesus help me, Jesus save me, Jesus forgive me, Jesus, I need you, whatever is on our heart, and he does all of that. 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:28.960 He did create us in God's image with the Spirit. 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:35.920 You know, and we put our trust in Jesus, that Spirit comes alive and connects with God's Spirit. 00:34:36.320 --> 00:34:43.039 And then He starts changing us, He starts transforming us, He does the heavy lifting, and He changes us from the inside out. 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:46.480 But and we can make that choice today. 00:34:48.719 --> 00:34:55.760 But to have great lives, to live the life that God has for each of us, we still have to make good choices. 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:58.880 It doesn't limit us, it frees us. 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:06.079 It frees us to enjoy the rewards and to enjoy the joy that God has for us. 00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:07.119 So let's pray. 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:08.559 Father, we just praise you. 00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:10.239 Thank you for being such a great God. 00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:17.679 Thank you for loving us enough to teach us, to show us how to have a good life, to show us how to have what you have for us. 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:19.840 And God, we need your help on this one. 00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:23.760 Please, supernaturally give us self-control. 00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:28.880 God, please, just give us more and more self-control. 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:30.719 Speak to us. 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:35.199 Give us a big idea, give us a big goal, and then help us accomplish it. 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:36.400 And we thank you for that. 00:35:37.599 --> 00:35:39.119 God, I ask you to bless everyone here. 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:45.199 I know that so many of us are going through tough things in our lives, and please just give each of us everything we need. 00:35:45.360 --> 00:35:47.519 And Jesus, we love you, we thank you, we trust you. 00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:48.719 It's in your name we pray. 00:35:48.880 --> 00:35:49.440 Amen.