Joe White Drive Time Podcast

The Treasure in Our Hearts - 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

"Christ hides himself in these just common old peanut butter jars of our heart."

Family Discussion:

• Without Jesus, how valuable are you? But with Christ in your heart how valuable is that peanut butter jar of your heart?
• How does that give you today the gift of humility that God would think enough of your heart, the old peanut butter jar to put his spirit in you?

Transcription:

00:04 One of my greatest heroes is Dr. Howard Hendricks, and Dr. Hendricks taught me something one time, that man, I'll think about it every time I read this passage in Second Corinthians chapter 4 verses 7-10. It says this, "but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not despairing, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus might be manifested in our body."

00:54 You know, I've got to break the routine today and just lead a major cheer in your home. I like this book we're studying together. This second Corinthians letter is just packed with God's greatest treasures. And, and you know what, speaking of treasures man, there is not, nor will there ever be, a treasure as absolutely invaluable as the mega karat diamond jewel of the Holy Spirit of Christ that hides himself in the treasure chest of your heart as a true believer and a follower of Jesus Christ. Doctor Hendrick's calls it peanut butter jars. Christ hides himself in these just common old peanut butter jars of our heart. You know, when I was a kid, my dad worked awfully hard to come home with enough money to put beans and burgers and peanut butter & jelly on the table. You know, we didn't starve, but we didn't have a whole lot of leftovers to feed our little dog Pixie, either. My mom was a champion at stretching the dollar and she'd save everything of potential value. Peanut butter jars and jelly jars, man, we drank out of those things. Her mom had taught her to save buttons, rare coins, toy marbles, trading stamps, and she'd saved stuff like that in peanut butter jars.

02:18 You know what, I remember one Friday night, we even put a handful of fireflies of lightening bugs in a peanut butter jar to make a natural flashlight for a game we were playing in the darkness of our room. Treasures, treasures in peanut butter jars. It seems ironic, doesn't it? But you know what? When I think of God putting his greatest treasure in the heart of a man who's failed as many times as I have, I feel just like a peanut butter jar - used, washed, spotless, and somehow filled with a treasure, so I can share some of the rare and priceless jewels with folks who come my way. And so it is with you. You may feel like a peanut butter jar yourself, but God thinks enough of you to fill your heart with his greatest treasure. Isn't that great?

03:08 Here's the question for today. How valuable is a used peanut butter jar by itself? And without Jesus, how valuable are you? But with Christ in your heart, with the Holy Spirit of God, living in your heart, now, how valuable is that peanut butter jar of your heart? And how does that give you today the gift of humility that God would think enough of your heart, the old peanut butter jar to put his spirit in you? How humble does that make you feel today? The lifeline for today to this: When I'm empty, if I would fall, I would break. But, when I'm filled with God's treasures, if I break and fall, it's the strongest treasure chest on earth.

How Much Does God Love Me? - 1 Corinthians 13:1-10, 13

"God loves us based on what he did for us."

Family Discussion:

• How much love does God love you? Can you define the love that he has for you?
• Read through those qualities of love in first Corinthians 13 and every time it says love, put God in there. And every time you read one of those qualities, put yourself in there and then give that same kind of love back to somebody else.

Transcription:

00:06 There's all kinds of great hand signals like that one, which I like, and that one, which I like, but one of the best ones, or maybe the best one in the world is that one, which is the universal symbol for love. First Corinthians 13 is just great. Everybody needs to know it by heart and it goes like this. "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but don't have love, I've become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have the faith that can remove mountains but to not have love, I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor and surrender my body to be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient. Love is kind and is not jealous. Love does not. Brag is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own way. It does not delight in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But if there are prophecies, they will fade away. If there are tongues, they will cease. Where there is knowledge it will too pass away. For we know in part the prophesying part, but when the perfect comes, the partial is done away. Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

01:34 You know what's great about that? It defines a man, it defines a woman. It defines a family. Uh, my favorite picture of love over the years, uh, of all the years of my kids doing basketball and volleyball and cheerleading and gymnastics. It's one man, an older guy, who had a wife who couldn't walk.

01:54 She was very debilitated, but every game he had the wheelchair and he'd pull her up to the door and he put her in her wheelchair and he would push her to every game and give her a 50 yard line seat. I saw him love her for years. Two of my favorite counselors at Kanakuk over the years, these sports camps that I do, out of the thousands of awesome counselors we've had were two fabulous male athletes, both of them, who fell in love with and married young women, both who had diseases, who they knew one day before too long would cripple those ladies and would require probably 24 hour care. Love never fails. Love no matter what. You know, lust can't wait to get, but love can't wait to give.

02:53 And you know what's the best part about that kind of love? That's the way that God loves us because true love says, I love you, not because of what you're going to do for me, but I love you because of what I've done for you. And the more I get to love and serve my little Debbie Jo after 37 years, the more I love her. It is not because of what she does for me, but it's because of what I get to do for her. That's the magic of marriage. It's the magic of family. And you know what? That's how God loves us. And that's where it comes from because God loves us based on what he did for us. And everybody knows what he did for us. He took the head, he took the cross, he took the nails, he took the crown of Thorns, he took the whip. And he says to you, he says, I love you based on that.

03:41 How much do you love me God? And he reaches his arms out and pins them to a cross. He says, I love you this much. So here's my questions for you today. How much love does God love you? Can you define the love that he has for you? And then the second one is, read through those qualities of love in first Corinthians 13 and every time it says love, put God in there. And every time you read one of those qualities, put yourself in there and then give that same kind of love back to somebody else. You're gonna have the greatest family in the world if you'll do that every day.

Every Part Matters! - 1 Corinthians 12:18-20, 26-27

"Every part in the body is as important as every other part in the body."

Family Discussion:

• Share a time when it was true how being someone you're not is problematic, in your life.
• How has God designed each person in your family to be useful in your family?
• Discuss how you will go about accentuating and bringing out the best of every person in your family and the gifts that each person here.

Transcription:

00:13 Today is so important that you and I spend a couple of minutes together because everybody is a part of a family. And you know what? I agree with Dorothy in Wizard of Oz that there's no place like home. And I want to talk about your family today. I want to ask you a question today. Have you ever felt insignificant in your home? Have you ever felt like you woke up and you didn't matter, or have you ever felt like you just didn't fit in. Well I hope this is a great encouragement to you today. First Corinthians chapter 12, we'll go with verses 18 through 20 and then verse 26 and 27. Check this out and be encouraged. Paul says, "but in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them just as he wanted them to be. And if they were all one part, where would the body be as it is? There are many parts in one body and if one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it."

01:22 We had four kids and they were as different as the four points on the compass. Two of my kids were girls and, and you know what, I now have four favorite women in my life, my two daughters, my bride and, and my mom. But I want to tell you about this fascinating oldest daughter of mine named Jamie. Jamie, unfortunately like me, is really, really messy. And her room, man, in high school was just an absolute garbage dump. I mean, just everything, all her letters she would write to all of her camp friends, stacked piled around everywhere. And she and I were like, you know, bashing heads because it was just such an absolute mess.

02:05 I called it the Blob, the room blob. And all my great lectures didn't matter. It just stayed a mess. It got messier as the days went by. To add, you know misery to that, she had all these animals that she raised and she was supposed to keep the animals on the porch. Baby ducks, baby geese, baby squirrels, baby rabbits, baby raccoons. But at night she would let them in a room and they lived in her room with her. It was unbelievable. Um, you know what? Her senior year in high school, I think it was early May, I had walked into a room and the room was clean. Everything was packed up, all in the boxes. Every poster was down off her walls. And her room was packed up for college and I crawled in to her bed, um, while she was at school and I laid there and wept and I thought, what would I give for a messy room again?

02:59 You know what? That girl is the most creative person you've ever met. You know, because sometimes messiness and sloppiness, it's just a heart of creativity. And you know what? All those little animals that she would adopt, now she's adopted kids from Africa because all those animals in her room just showed how big her heart was for people that needed to be loved and for little animals that needed somebody to love. You know what? Everybody in your family has got these incredible gifts and sometimes may come out and look like sloppy rooms. But way down deep, they reveal the heart of an incredible gift that they have. And when you see the gift in the person in your family, instead of the fault in the person in your family, all of a sudden your family starts working together like that.

03:50 And that's why Paul says that every part in the body is as important as every other part in the body. You can't do without one of the parts in your family. And here's the questions for today. Every Christian is useful in the family. Every Christian is useful in the church. And you know what, when you try to become somebody you're not, problems occur. Share a time when this was true in your life. And then the last question today is, how has God designed each person in your family to be useful in your family? And then here's the thought for the day. May be it one time or another, we've all felt like kind of a useless part of the body, but God has entrusted, a special gift to each of us. Discuss how you will go about accentuating and bringing out the best of every person in your family and the gifts that each person here.

Will Your Crown Fade? - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What's the crown that you're working for in your life?

Family Discussion:

• What are you training for?
• What's your spiritual workout schedule? Do you have one? If you do, describe it.

Transcription:

00:04 If you wanted to be a truly great golfer, a great golfer, or if you ever wanted to be great at anything, I mean among the world's best, well, check this one out today and maybe you can. First Corinthians Chapter 9 Verse 24-27, it says this. "Don't you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in a game goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

01:09 The story goes of a man who wanted to be a great golfer and the story goes, I'm not sure it's true, but he went to Jack Nicholas and he said, "Mister Nicholas, I love the way you play the game. How do you play it so well? How do you win the greatest prize of all?" And he said, it's easy. Wake up with the sun. Go out and hit golf balls until your hands bleed, till you've got blisters on your hands and then go eat a little breakfast, then go back out on the range and hit till your hands are bleeding some more. And then eat lunch and then go hit golf balls until you can't hold the club any longer. Then go eat supper. And then after supper go hit golf balls until it's dark. And he said, do that for two years and you'll be among the greatest of golf.

01:49 You know what? That is the same kind of tenacity Paul was expressing when he used the phrase that I might win five times. He used that phrase in a span of four verses. What was he trying to win? What was he trying to win? What was he trying to win? You know what? I think he was trying to win souls. Paul placed evangelism over every aspect of life, he even set aside his own rights when it meant the salvation of another human being. I remember one time when much son Cooper was in ninth grade and every night that I was home, I would tuck him in bed, unless I did my other kids, and we'd memorize a Bible verse together and we'd pray together. And I looked at Cooper who was a young sprouting high school quarterback, the end of the big halls of the high school and I said "Cooper, I've got a vision for you, man. When you graduate from high school, one of your buddies is going to come up to you and he's gonna say Cooper because of you, I became a Christian." Well, he didn't want to hear that goal at night. He had other goals in mind, like all-state in football. His junior year in high school, I walked by his room and I saw something that I'll never forget. Cooper was down there leading his best friend, Jared to Christ. And you know what? I went upstairs and I waited and pretty soon here came this kid of mine up the stairs and he looked like Moses just come down the mountain of the 10 Commandments. His face was glistening. He said, "Dad." He said, "you'll never believe what just happened in my room tonight." And I said, "Cooper, what happened down there?"

03:16 He said, "dad, I just led Jared to Christ." And I said, "Cooper, that's awesome." He said, "dad, you remember a couple of years ago, you had that vision for me, you know, about leading one of my friends to Christ?" And I said, "yeah." He said, "that's the last thing I wanted to hear in ninth grade." But he said, "dad, that's all I want to do with the rest of my life." That kid just finished his Masters Degree in theology, up in Chicago and I said Cooper, I said, "man, is that more important than the state championship?" He said, yes! And I said "Is that more important than all-state and football?" And he said, "dad, it's the most important thing in the whole wide world." And that's why I believe he just got his degree in theology and he wants to live his whole life just for that cause. I believe that's what Paul's saying here when he says, "run for the prize, run in such a way that you may win."

04:03 I don't think he's talking about shooting holes in one. I think he's talking about taking people to heaven so that when you die, you'll see those people for eternity. So here's the questions today. What are you training for? And then secondly, what's your spiritual workout schedule? Do you have one? If you do, describe it. If you don't, go get one, and in the end you're going to have prize on this earth better than the prizes you could possibly get at some award ceremony or in some trophy case. And the lifeline today is this, what do you diligently work towards? What's your goal? What's the crown that you're working for in your life?

Flee Means Run For Your Life! - 1 Corinthians 6:18

"Flee sexual immorality, and flee means run for your life."

Family Discussion:

• Why does scripture say run for your life from sexual immorality? Why doesn't it say stand and fight it?
• What is it about sexual immorality, whether it's lust or entering into a bad relationship, that makes it the sin that's a sin against your own body?
• How do you need to flee from something immoral that's going on in your life right now?

Transcription:

00:14 Today's Bible verse is brief and to the point, and it hits me and probably everybody else between the eyes, squarely like a bullseye. First Corinthians 6:18, it says this, "flee immorality, and flee means run for your life. Every other sin a man commits is outside the body. But the immoral man, the immoral woman sins against his or her own body." She was 17 years old and quite attractive, and yet hadn't had a date in weeks. The phone rang. And the guy that asked her to the date, she knew was not the guy she should be going on a date with it all. But he said, hey, we're going to the movies. It'll be fine. A little red flag went up and it said, you better not. But she said, well, nothing will happen at the movie, so we'll go. As they went to the movies, she found, to her surprise, that the movie theater was closed.

01:08 A little red flag went up when he said, "you know what, doggone it. Movies closed. But, you know what, there's a bunch of friends playing down at the park. They're going to be playing some sand volleyball down at the city park. Let's go play some sand volleyball. The flag went up, but she, uh, went to the park anyway. Well, when they got down to the park, you know what? Sure enough, nobody was there. And the guy said, "you know what? Doggone it, I guess everybody's already left, but maybe we could just spend a little time visiting in the car." A little red flag went up, but again, she disobeyed the flag of warning and so they begin to talk in the car, and the next thing she knew he was over sitting in the seat by her side. He began to kiss her, flags were going up everywhere. She disobeyed the flags in her hunger for affection. She became pregnant that night and nine months later gave birth to an unplanned child. The good side of that story is however, that when the red flag went up, it said, you need to abort the child. She obeyed the Spirit this time. And she had the child. Like so many other courageous moms who have a child when the world recommends abortion. What is the little red flag that goes up with sexual immorality of any kind comes before your eyes? What are the warnings and why is it so difficult to disobey the warnings? And what is the reward when you do obey the warnings?

02:31 The story goes of a businessman who was traveling. He was alone. He was lonely. He'd been out for weeks. He and his wife were struggling in their marriage. And so he called for a prostitute. He waited two or three hours and then there was a knock at the door. When the door opened he looked in horror at the face of his grown daughter who had adopted her daddy's morals and lived her life as a prostitute. Flee immorality. Scripture says, don't stand and fight it, run for your life. It's the most devastating challenge. And sin can happen in the life of a man or a woman. And my question to you today is this, why does scripture say run for your life? Why doesn't it say stand and fight it? The second question is, what is it about sexual immorality, whether it's lust or entering into a bad relationship, what is about that that makes it the sin that's a sin against your own body? And the last question is this, in your life today as a student or as an adult, a man or woman, how do you need to flee from something immoral that's going on in your life right now?

Are You Built on the Rock? - 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

"The Bible speaks clearly of our future in heaven, and it says that there's going to be crowns for those who build their life on the solid rock of Christ."

Family Discussion:

• What is the foundation of your life today?
• What does the gift you're making for Jesus look like today?

Transcription:

00:14 Peak into your future today, you'll see what it's going to be like for the rest of, not your life, but for eternity. Watch out for this devotional, today. First Corinthians chapter three, verses 12 and on, it says this, "if any man builds on the foundation using gold or silver or precious jewels, or wood and hay and stubble, each man's work will become evident because it will be tested by fire and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. Now, if the work that he has built remains, he will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, he will suffer loss, yet he will be saved, yet as through fire." I'll never forget when this young friend of mine was on a stage, at a university play and he was the lead character.

01:07 But in the play, he was unable to give and receive love. But when the curtain fell at the end of the play, he stepped out and somebody handed him two dozen red roses and he said to a girl that he loved out in the audience. He said, "you know what, my character in the play was unable to give and receive love, but there's somebody sitting out there who I want to give my love to for my lifetime." And then he said, "Jamie, will you marry me?" Well, that friend is named Mandy Brainer and he's now my son in law, and the girl in the crowd was named Jamie. And you know what? When he gave her a ring, he didn't give her this. He didn't give her cubic zirconium. He didn't give her plastic. He gave her a diamond because he wanted to symbolize that their marriage was going to be built upon the rock.

01:58 Believe it or not, when I married my precious Debbie Jo, a guy in my wedding, an old college football buddy of mine, had given my brother $50 to pull out a Mickey mouse ring when I ask for the ring. And it happened. I asked to the best man, my brother, for the ring, and he handed me a Mickey mouse ring for the wedding. My wife could have killed him, but you know what? I didn't build my marriage on plastic. Anymore than you'll build your marriage on plastic, and so much more our life. You know what, the Bible speaks clearly of our future in heaven, and it says that there's going to be crowns for those who build their life on the solid rock of Christ. There'll be the crown of glory. There'll be the crown of life, there'll be the crown of righteousness, there'll be the crown of the victory.

02:50 And all of those crowns are built upon that your life is lived on the solid foundation of Christ. So, what's your future gonna be? Uh, what's your eternity going to be like? Certainly it is Christ alone who will save us. Certainly that, but the Bible teaches that someday we get to lay those crowns at Jesus' feet and we get to celebrate for all of eternity. The rewards for which you lived your life, building on the solid foundation of Christ and Christ alone. And my questions to you are this, what is the foundation of your life today? Is it trophies, little trophies that will fade, that'll fall apart in a few years? Or, is it the future of the trophies in the whole foundation on Christ? And the lifeline for today is: what does the gift you're making for Jesus look like today? Does it resemble a diamond or does it more resemble a piece of plastic?

What Are Your Trophies? - 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

"What are your trophies today? Everything else, Paul said, except for our reliance on God and His Spirit, is foolishness."

Family Discussion

• If you achieved Super Bowl status or some equivalent honor, where would you display your trophies?
• Can you recall a time when some thing or some body you relied upon, let you down? Is it possible you were relying upon that thing that you wanted in place of God?
• What are your trophies today? And where are you laying up your trophies for eternity?

Transcription

00:14 As you look around your room today, or as you look around your resume today, what trophies do you see? Today's scripture is going to help define your trophies and my trophies tremendously. Check this out. This is so good you guys. First Corinthians chapter two, verse four and five. Paul says, "and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." That hotel room, the night before the Dallas cowboy game was filled with New York giants. They all had their Super Bowl rings. They had just won the year before, the Super Bowl championship. But on that night, I saw 30 to 35 or 36 players take off their Super Bowl rings and humbly walk down to the little place where I shared that devotional about the chain link of being a Bond Servant of Christ.

01:20 And every one of those guys had to have one of these chain links. Every one of those guys wanted everybody on their team. And everybody that was watching to know that that little leak of chain was more important to them than a Super Bowl ring. Those guys learned that and I would admit to become a bond servant of Jesus. I've see it on football fields all over the country and in basketball locker rooms, where they share the simplicity of the power and the wisdom of God, the Father to the fatherless. And all of a sudden all those trophies and everything that ever made them like the greatest, most praised athletes in the world becomes comparatively nothing in their lives. I coached with Jean Stallings at Texas A&M, this boy, Johnny, who had down syndrome and died a couple of summers ago. Johnny had been given more trophies.

02:09 That boy had been given more badges of honor than you could count. But when I went to his room the night after he died, there wasn't one trophy there, not one, because even as a down syndrome child, a boy who couldn't count to 10, Johnny knew the secret of trophies and he knew the secret of victory. He knew the secret of what really matters in life. Johnny had given all of these trophies away. Johnny knew that his trophies were in heaven. Everything else, Paul said, except for our reliance on God and his spirit, is foolishness. The questions for today are these: if you achieved Super Bowl status or some equivalent honor, where would you display your trophies? And then the next question, can you recall a time when some thing or some body you relied upon, let you down? Is it possible you were relying upon that thing that you wanted in place of God? And then discuss a time when you experienced the power of God. And then lastly, what are your trophies today? And where are you laying up your trophies for eternity? The lifeline today is this: take an inventory of the things you rely upon. If they are anything less than God's spirit, take time today and reconsider.

 

It's Not Foolish to be Faithful! - 1 Corinthians 1:18

"Sometimes there is the greatest hidden wisdom in foolishness."

Family Discussion

• What are you doing in your life that seems like foolishness to the world, but you know down deep in your heart it's the power of God?
• What can you change in the way you're treating people?
• How can we change that around where it might be kind of foolish to the world, but it would be absolute bullseye to the word of God?

Transcription

00:14 Maybe if you've ever felt foolish before your friends or the people in the workplace that you operate and you're just representing Christ as best you can, then this verse today is going to be encouraging to you, as it is to me. It comes from First Corinthians chapter one, verse 18 through 20. Verse 18 says this, "for the Word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved is the power of God." Man, I'll never forget when Mohammed Ali, some would say the greatest fighter of all time, was in a fight with Smokin' Joe Frazier, the heavyweight champion of the world at the time, and Ali, his deal in that fight was going to be rope-a-dope. And the rope-a-dope trick was going to be to train his abs.

01:02 I mean, his whole training before the fight was to train his abs, just thousands of crunches and sit ups and leg lifts. And then he would hover in the first few rounds of the fight and he let Smokin' Joe Frazier take on his midsection with all of his heart until Frazier was literally worn out. And then Ali took him out in one round. It was foolishness to the world. You don't train your abs to fight. You train your hands and you train your arms. But he trained his abs and it turned out to be victory. I'll never forget back in my days of playing and coaching would Bill Yeoman, the head coach of the Houston team, who invented the veer where you would literally not block the defensive tackle or sometimes the defensive end and you would option off of whatever he did. An unblocked defensive linemen?

01:50 Are you kidding me? It became the most powerful running game in the history of the sport. We had a kicker on our football team at SMU, kicked with the side of his foot. No one in football kick with a side of their foot. That was for soccer. We all kick with the front of our foot. Well, you know the rest of that story. Everybody kicks with the side of their foot today. They're breaking records at the straight oak kickers. And I'll never forget the first time in the Olympics when this guy starts jumping over backwards; you always rolled over the bar and that day and you could roll over five feet or six foot. Well, this guy comes along, his name is Spaz Bernie, jumped over backwards and cleared seven feet - foolishness to the world. But sometimes there is the greatest hidden wisdom in foolishness.

02:37 And so it is when you walk with Christ, so it is when you carry your Bible to school. So it is when you live your Bible in the workplace. So it is when you turn the other cheek in your home, when there's a fight and you're the first one to say, "I'm sorry, will you please forgive me?" It looks like foolishness when the world says fight for your rights, fight for your way. Sometimes foolishness is the heart of Christ because when he hung himself on that cross and they crucified him, and he was God, it looked like foolishness to the world. But we know now there's the power of God. So my questions to you today are these, what are you doing in your life that seems like foolishness to the world, but you know down deep in your heart it's the power of God? And then the big question of the day is this, what can you change in the way you're treating people? Your family or the way you're living your life at school or in your job that you know right now, it may seem like being cool to the world, but it's foolish to God. And how can we change that around where it might be kind of foolish to the world, but it would be absolute bullseye to the word of God? Sometimes foolishness is the wisest thing of them all.

Stumbling Block - Romans 14:16-21

"Check out the commercial how the girls are clothed in the beer commercials. You know, ask a boy what he thinks about when you wear those hot red shorts to the 4th of July picnic. Um, asked the ninth grader, you know, what that can of beer in your hand can do to your Christian witness. Uh, you know what, causing someone to stumble."

Family Discussions:

1. What are some stumbling blocks that had been placed in your path before?
2. What are some of the stumbling blocks that maybe you've recognized that you place in somebody else's pathway?
3. What insights did this scripture give to you today?
4. How does this define maybe some of the gray areas of your life and maybe make them more black and white?

Transcription:

00:14 Man, the scripture today is just packed with the answers to probably every question you ask. What's right, what's wrong for me? Check this out. Romans 14, Verse 16 Through 21, uh, here, here God's wisdom. It says, "therefore, do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil. For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For He who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things that are the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they're evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles." Stumbling blocks.

01:10 Uh, you know what, uh, in your mind define the word enticement. Uh, you know, and then watch how the model is dressed or undressed. Uh, you know, as general motor sells, the, you know, the Red Pontiac, you know. Check out the commercial, you know, and, and how the girls are clothed as they sell Coors or you know, or Millers or Budweiser in the beer commercials. You know, ask a boy what he thinks about when you wear those hot red shorts to the 4th of July picnic. Um, asked the ninth grader, you know, what that can of beer in your hand can do to your Christian witness. Uh, you know what, causing someone to stumble. You know, building stumbling blocks means to bring out sin in their life. And man, Satan is a master at this fine art of deception. He knows our weaknesses. Uh, you know, like he knew Eve's tastes buds for the first red apple in the garden of Eden.

02:08 Um, you know, one thing I love about our summer staff at our Christian sports camps here at Kids Across American and Kanakuk, 2,500, uh, you know, collegiate, very athletic people who have decided that, you know, that drinking beer or any kind of alcohol, is not going to happen. You know, not just when we're with the kids, but we're when we're on our nights off because you know what the kid may see somebody with a can of beer in their hand, you know, back at the fraternity party and they don't know whether you've had one or six And so the can of beer can become a stumbling block. Um, and, and you know what, I think that's why Paul says in scripture, "all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable." And setting myself up as a stumbling block. You know what, it defines a whole lot of what people call gray areas in the Christian life.

03:00 So here's the questions I have for today. If you want to just ask these questions to somebody who's sitting with you or to your family for doing these together. What are some stumbling blocks that had been placed in your path before? And what are some of the stumbling blocks that maybe you've recognized that you place in somebody else's pathway? Um, but what, what insights, finally, what insights did this scripture give to you today? And how does this define maybe some of the gray areas of your life and maybe make them more black and white? And here's the lifeline. You know, love is not a stick to trip you up in the darkness, but it's a net that will catch you when you fall.

The Holy Spirit: God's Voice Inside - John 16:7-14

"A young lady entered this Christian counselor's office one day with, with eyes that told a story of a life of misery and sin and as she sat down, the counselor asked her what was wrong."

Family Discussions:

1. How does the Holy Spirit speak to you?
2. What part does God's word play in your conscience? How does His word build your conscience?
3. What happens when we ignore the voice inside?
4. How does the Holy Spirit glorify Jesus?

Transcription:

00:13 Well, I love to grill. Every man loves to grill and uh, I love to start the fire. Today, I'm going to tell you about a fire. I'm going to tell you about a great fire, the best fire of all. John 16 verse seven through 14, Jesus speaking the last night before he's crucified, what a discourse it was in the upper room. Um, here we go. Verse seven through 14, "He said, but I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away for if I do not go away. The helper will not come to you, but if I go away, I will send him to you. And He, when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin because they do not believe in me, concerning righteousness because I go to the father and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

01:02 I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot hear them now. But when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify me. Jesus said, for he will take of mine and will disclose it to you." The Holy Spirit, God's voice inside. Uh, the story goes of a Christian psychologist who specialized in helping people get out of their bad habits, relieved the stress and the fears that they were experiencing and to get their lives back on track. I believe in Christian counseling and by the way, a lot in this story, a young lady entered this Christian counselors office one day with, with eyes that told a story of a life of misery and sin and as she sat down, the counselor asked her what was wrong.

01:56 She openly told him of her godless lifestyle The stuff she was doing, her guilty conscience and how miserable she was because of all the stuff that was going on in her life. The psychologist asked her if she wanted some help to change her ways. And she quickly replied, no, I don't want to change. I just want you to weaken my conscience. Little did she know that your conscience is like the nerves in your hand that make you pull away from a hot flame before it roasts your skin. Your conscience is the spirit of God guiding a believer into the things that are right in leading you away from the mistakes they're caused by sin. When your conscience speaks, that's a fire in your heart. And when that fire's burning, you better listen. Here's the questions for the day. How does the Holy Spirit speak to you? And the second question, What part does God's word play in your conscience? How does His word build your conscience? And then the third question is what happens when we ignore the voice inside? And the last one, how does the Holy Spirit glorify Jesus? And here's the lifeline: As we keep God's word alive in our home, we keep our consciences sharp.