Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Dear heavenly Father, we turn our hearts toward you and we ask that you would grant your spirit to work on our character and make us better people.
[00:00:19] I want to be a better man. I want to live a better life.
[00:00:23] I want to be a blessing to my family and the people I work with.
[00:00:28] And so I pray that your spirit would work in our hearts as only he can and teach us that when you say you want us to love our neighbor, that you mean it and that you're going to do something beautiful in us and through us when we do that.
[00:00:49] And so I place this congregation in your hands through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
[00:01:01] Can you remember how many classes you've taken in your life?
[00:01:11] I mean, start going back. Some of you can remember two minutes after you were born, but I'm probably first grade is my first memory.
[00:01:22] And I can remember drawing letters, the little dots together, do you know what I mean? And then you copy the dots and you learn how to make an a and a b, alright?
[00:01:42] They make you go to school your whole elementary life.
[00:01:46] Hardly get any time off at all to be a child.
[00:01:50] Then you have to go to junior high if there's any. There is no time in life more insane than junior high. And how kids learn anything in junior high is a miracle of God.
[00:02:05] Then you go to high school and you start picking different classes and then if you go to college or you go to trades.
[00:02:15] We have spent hundreds of hours being taught something.
[00:02:21] But sadly it feels like to me some of the things that we really needed instruction on and really mattered we didn't get a single lecture on.
[00:02:33] Ah, okay. I've never used algebra in my life. Okay, some of you do and God bless you, but I've never used an algebra equation in my life. But I had to sit in that class and be tortured by, alright, it strikes me that somewhere along the line somebody would have come up with the idea of a good class on just basic life skills.
[00:03:10] Just basic life skills. All right, if you're young, I can really help you today. If you're middle aged, I can help you a little bit. If you're my age, I hope I can just entertain you. All right.
[00:03:30] If you learn some basic life skills, you'll have a better marriage.
[00:03:39] If you learn some basic life skills, you'll do better at work.
[00:03:44] If you learn some basic life skills, you'll have better friends.
[00:03:49] Do you see, the healthier you are and the better life skills you have, the more life reward you.
[00:04:02] It's when we don't have basic life skills that life keeps punching us in the mouth again and again.
[00:04:12] So where am I supposed to learn these basic life skills?
[00:04:16] How can, how can I, um. How can I do a remedial class on basic life skills?
[00:04:26] Well, it turns out God has a plan for this.
[00:04:30] See, God says, I want you to love your neighbor as yourself.
[00:04:36] And when you start learning how to do that, you develop basic life skills.
[00:04:42] You can't love your neighbor if you don't have some basic life skills. So when Christ says to us, I want you to love your neighbor, what he's really saying is, I wanna make you a better person. And the way I'm going to do that is I'm gonna ask you to love your neighbor, and you're gonna have to learn some life skills to do that.
[00:05:04] Do you hear this?
[00:05:07] So when Christ asked me to love my neighbor, he's really saying, let me take you through a course where I'm gonna teach you some life skills that are going to make all the difference in your life. And if you use these life skills with everyone you meet, you'll be loving your neighbor the way I want you to.
[00:05:29] Are you interested in some basic life skills?
[00:05:32] Well, Paul shares these with us in Romans, chapter twelve, verses nine through 21. I can't do the whole list, but I've picked ten out, and I'm going to drag you through all ten.
[00:05:46] First of all, first basic life skill.
[00:05:49] Have a true moral compass.
[00:05:54] Now, if you haven't heard the term moral compass, let me explain it to you.
[00:05:59] I have a compass. I don't know why it works some places and it doesn't work others, but it's just not. I don't know what's wrong with it, and it's a good one. I bought it at fin, fur and feather. But sometimes I'm standing in my house, and it does. I know where north is, and it's not pointing north.
[00:06:18] I don't know why, and it doesn't work very good in my car. Okay, what a compass is supposed to do is when it works right, it's always supposed to point to true north.
[00:06:33] When it doesn't work right, you think you're going north and you're going wherever. All right, I need to have a. I have. I need an internal moral code that always points to true north, which is what is right.
[00:06:53] Paul said it this way, abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. That is a moral compass.
[00:07:03] The word that's translated abhor. Here. It's only used one time in the entire Greek New Testament, and it means to abhor or despise. It's a very strong word.
[00:07:17] Your moral compass needs to be repulsed by evil because evil baits and switches you. It promises you one thing and gives you another.
[00:07:32] Everybody. Have we all been there? You felt one way when you were tempted. You felt an altogether different way when you gave in to the temptation.
[00:07:42] You thought it would feel good to get even with that person and say some mean things. But it ended up not feeling so good after all. Right, here's a basic life skill.
[00:07:55] Be repulsed by evil and attach yourself firmly to good if you will. If you will abhor what is evil and you will be attached to what is good. You're going to treat people very, very differently than a lot of people in the world because you're going to be treating them based on your values, not on your emotions.
[00:08:23] You're going to be treating them based on the kind of person you want to be, not responding to the kind of person they are.
[00:08:33] If you will, by the grace of God, let the Holy Spirit develop in you a true moral compass. You're going to live better and you're going to have a better influence on people. And people are going to trust you because you're trustworthy.
[00:08:49] If you don't have a moral compass, you're always going to be acting, reacting and overreacting to. To whatever is happening at the moment.
[00:08:59] The second thing Paul said, outdo one another in showing honor.
[00:09:07] I wanted to say this is just simply practice being respectful.
[00:09:14] I read Jordan's book a couple of years ago and I even taught a class on it here.
[00:09:22] Parents. He's got a chapter in his book where he says, raise kids that adults like.
[00:09:31] Because if adults like your kids, they'll help them.
[00:09:35] If adults don't like your kids, they won't help them.
[00:09:38] Is that interesting?
[00:09:41] Your child has an advantage if you raise them in the kind of way that adults say that's a good kid, because then they'll be willing to help them. If you raise kids and adults say, little jerk, they're not going to go out of their way to help them. All right? But it's not just kids. It's all of us.
[00:10:08] We live in a culture that prides itself in rudeness and being disrespectful.
[00:10:17] We almost pride ourselves on who knows the meanest insult.
[00:10:23] All right?
[00:10:24] That doesn't work.
[00:10:27] That is not a basic life skill. Here is a basic life skill. Practice being respectful. Paul said, outdo one another in showing honor.
[00:10:39] All right, here's a word that has absolutely fallen out of our vocabulary. But I want to inject it back into your life. It's called civility. Being civil. And basically it means having a courteous and polite approach to people.
[00:11:01] I know some incredibly polite people. I know some incredibly polite people. I have a good friend who's incredibly polite, and they're delightful to be around.
[00:11:13] People want to be around polite people.
[00:11:17] People want to be around courteous people.
[00:11:21] People will respond much more favorably to you if you're polite and courteous than if you're rude and demanding.
[00:11:33] The goal is not to be, not to be just courteous to the people who are courteous to you.
[00:11:42] But the goal is to be courteous to everyone because you are a courteous person.
[00:11:48] Are you hearing this? I'm not being courteous to someone because they've earned it from me. I'm being courteous. I'm being respectful because that's the kind of person I am.
[00:12:02] Okay. The goal is also not I'll be as polite to you as you are to me. That doesn't work at all because you're always going to be remembering that you're ahead of game. I was twice as polite as you were. I was really polite to you and you didn't even recognize it. Okay? You're always going to lose with that mentality.
[00:12:25] But if you have the mentality, I'm going to outdo the people around me in being respectful.
[00:12:33] You're playing a winning game.
[00:12:35] Do you hear this? You are playing a winning game.
[00:12:40] I want to compete with myself in being polite. I don't want to compete with other people. I want to say you were 20% polite yesterday, and that does not work.
[00:12:55] I want you to get your stuff together. And now, today you're going to be 60% polite.
[00:13:04] I want to be pushing myself to live by this incredible life skill of being courteous, being civil.
[00:13:21] Three, be patient.
[00:13:29] Now, I don't have a lot of credibility on this, but I am going to talk to you about it.
[00:13:36] Paul said, be patient in tribulation or be patient in affliction.
[00:13:44] Patience means steadfastness in time of difficulty, forbearance under provocation. Now, I want to look at both of these.
[00:13:55] A patient person is a person who doesn't quit because it gets difficult.
[00:14:02] The world is full of people who will be there if it's easy, but they will disappear when it gets difficult.
[00:14:11] A basic life skill is you develop the reputation of you stick it out. You don't quit. You work your way through it, you figure out new approaches. You are steadfast when it's difficult, all right?
[00:14:31] Sometimes the things I can change, I want to be steadfast when it's difficult, the things I can't change, I still don't want to be a quitter. I want to forbear under provocation.
[00:14:46] Some of you say, you know, doc, I work with people. I've tried to be a good neighbor to them.
[00:14:52] They're just ugly souls, okay? And that there are people out there like that, all right?
[00:15:01] But I'm not treating the whole world badly because I have one person in my life who's tragically broken and can't be related to in any way.
[00:15:15] Stop giving me the one off rule and let's talk about most of humanity. Most of humanity appreciates a little patience. I do.
[00:15:25] I really appreciate a patience. I need a lot of it, and I appreciate the gift of it.
[00:15:32] Paul says it's always easy to give up when it seems like being good doesn't work.
[00:15:41] But we have to be steadfast and forbear. Do you hear it? Some of you thinking, doc, this just doesn't work. You don't know where I live, okay? I don't. I live in the world War two. But it turns out I didn't write these ideas. I found them in this little black book.
[00:16:05] The almighty inspired the apostle Paul and he wrote these ideas down. And people like you and I have been reading them for 2000 years. And we have to decide, is what God teaches really the best way of life?
[00:16:23] If it is, then we're willing to say, I'm not responsible for what other people do. I am responsible for what I do.
[00:16:34] And I'm going to mature the basic life skill of being patient.
[00:16:42] Four, be hospitable.
[00:16:53] Can you make other people comfortable around you?
[00:16:59] Or, I want to change how I say that. Is there something peaceful and pleasant about you that makes people around you more comfortable?
[00:17:13] See, hospitality isn't always giving somebody a sandwich.
[00:17:17] Sometimes hospitality is giving someone a sense of acceptance.
[00:17:28] You don't have to prove yourself to me. You don't have to jump through 13 hoops.
[00:17:34] You don't have to go through my checklist because you are my neighbor, because you are a fellow human being.
[00:17:43] I want you. I want to share something peaceful and well being with you.
[00:17:52] It's interesting that the word that is translated to hospitality is literally a word that means be friendly to strangers.
[00:18:00] And it fits the Good Samaritan story perfectly. Remember, we studied the Good Samaritan story.
[00:18:08] The man who was wounded on the road, he was a total stranger to the Good Samaritan ah. But the Good Samaritan was friendly to the stranger in need. Hospitality is a willingness to be friendly to strangers, and then it says pursue, but it's actually the word for hunt down. Hunt down. Opportunities to be hospitable.
[00:18:40] When you go to work tomorrow, look for chances to be hospitable.
[00:18:47] Don't be the last person to. To introduce yourself to be someone new. You be the first person to introduce yourself to someone new.
[00:18:59] Five.
[00:19:03] Paul wrote, bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them.
[00:19:11] Ah.
[00:19:13] Ah.
[00:19:15] This is a life skill.
[00:19:20] If you have to drive anywhere in northeastern Ohio, it's a whole lot easier to curse than it is to bless.
[00:19:33] Thank you. Thank you.
[00:19:39] Paul said, develop a life skill where people expect you to bless them and not to curse them.
[00:19:55] Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing if people's expectation was that you were going to say something nice no matter what was happening, instead of being like everybody else? Who has something sharp to say when things don't go their way?
[00:20:12] Can you hear this?
[00:20:14] This is a life skill that works.
[00:20:19] The world is full of people who will curse you.
[00:20:24] There are not enough people who will bless you.
[00:20:29] All right, now let's ask ourselves, why is this utilitarian? Think about yourself.
[00:20:36] If somebody gets mad at you and curses you, do you feel like cooperating with them, does something, and you go, oh, you're right. I am a disgusting dog.
[00:20:51] No, you don't.
[00:20:53] You automatically get defensive and the quality of your cooperation plummets.
[00:21:04] On the other hand, please listen. On the other hand, if you mess up and somebody says, that's all right, we'll fix this. I know you're a good person. I know you're trying. I'm going to help you get this better. What happens to your desire to cooperate with that person now, it is an incredible life skill that if we will restrain ourselves from saying ugly things and learn how to bless people around us, especially when the situation's unpleasant, we're going to live a better quality of life, and we're going to be more influential.
[00:21:49] If you say, doc, I just can't do it.
[00:21:54] I just can't do it. Okay, then meet me halfway.
[00:21:58] If you can't bless them, at least don't curse them.
[00:22:02] Can we meet halfway?
[00:22:05] If you just can't bring yourself to bless that person who's tailgating you?
[00:22:13] Church, I'm sorry I got to tell you this story.
[00:22:17] I was coming to work the other day to my men's group on Tuesday morning, and this guy was tailgating me. I was doing the speed limit, tailgating me, tailgating me. And I'm being calm and I'm saying, that's his problem, not Mortimer about it. Got over here on Mark's Road, he whipped around me going 50, 60 miles an hour at 35 miles, speed zone.
[00:22:43] Cop pulls out and gave him a ticket.
[00:22:54] I mean that in a christian kind of way, so don't tailgate me. You might get a ticket.
[00:23:09] All right.
[00:23:11] Basic life skills. When God asked me to be a good neighbor, he's asking me to pray, practice these basic life skills. And when I practice these basic life skills, my life gets better. And the people around me's life gets better. Six.
[00:23:31] Paul wrote, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. That life skill is be more sympathetic.
[00:23:42] It's easy to get caught up in our own head.
[00:23:47] It's easy to make life all about us.
[00:23:51] But a basic life skill that will serve you well and will pay off in the long run is if you can try to understand what's happening in the people around you.
[00:24:06] If you can understand this person has been through a tragedy and their heart is broken and life isn't working for them right now. And then Paul says, you gotta have the impulse to sympathize with them in that often somebody's life isn't working and we wanna give them a lecture. Well, if you'd stop doing this and start doing that. Okay.
[00:24:29] There have to be times when we have a gentle spirit and people who are experiencing difficulty in life, they can just sense that there is at least one person in the world who cares.
[00:24:43] Can you hear me, church?
[00:24:48] Ah.
[00:24:50] Life is full of sorrow.
[00:24:52] And a basic life skill is I don't want to add more sorrow to somebody who's already overburdened by sorrow.
[00:25:02] Life, there is enough.
[00:25:04] So in that moment, I practice this life skill and I say, they've been beaten bad enough. It's not my job to correct them, straighten them out. Maybe it's my job today just to let them know that the Lord Jesus Christ loves them and their soul is valuable to him. Church.
[00:25:28] But he also says, celebrate with the people who are celebrating.
[00:25:34] This is also a life skill. Have you ever had something good happen in your life and somebody you thought was close to you, you could tell they weren't happy for you, they were kind of jealous of you? Have you ever seen that? It's a very unpleasant thing. You have something wonderful happen and then somebody who's in your life that you would think would celebrate with you, you can tell they're not happy for you.
[00:26:01] They're a little annoyed that somehow or another, you got that good thing and they didn't. All right? We can't be that guy.
[00:26:09] That's just ugly. And it doesn't work in life. It undermines relationships. It makes things more difficult for people. All right, so a basic life skill, be more sympathetic. What does that mean? The people in your life who have sorrow, don't add to their sorrow. Share kindness with them. The people in your life who God is blessing, celebrate with them. Be able to enjoy other people having good experiences and having blessings.
[00:26:45] Try to escape making everything about you.
[00:26:52] Try to be part of something bigger that God is doing in the world.
[00:26:59] That's what it means to be sympathetic.
[00:27:02] Seven, do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
[00:27:12] This is the principle.
[00:27:15] Don't consider others as insignificant.
[00:27:20] You know why we don't treat people right? Because we write them off in our head is insignificant. This person is insignificant. It doesn't matter. I don't have to. I don't have to be on my a again because this person doesn't matter. We learned this from the good Samaritan, right? The priest and the Levite, they considered that damaged man insignificant. And because he was insignificant, it didn't matter how they treated him.
[00:27:49] Christ taught us that everyone is our neighbor. Remember, the word is placeon, and it means our fellow human being. Everybody you meet this week, they're your neighbor.
[00:28:04] They are your fellow human being.
[00:28:08] And since we are all human beings, we have no right to be arrogant or despise each other.
[00:28:16] What is your moral ground for considering somebody insignificant? I mean, what elevates you to the point where you can look at others and say, I'm important, but you're insignificant? All right, first of all, no one likes to be treated that way. Everybody in this room has been in a situation where somebody marginalized you. You just weren't important, and they made it obvious that you didn't matter in what was happening. All right?
[00:28:51] A great life skill is we look at everyone and say, this is a person just like me. They have significance. Their life matters, and I want to treat them like their life matters. I don't want to treat them like they're unimportant to me.
[00:29:13] I don't want to be the snob who thinks, oh, you live in that neighborhood. I live in this neighborhood. You're below me. Hey, the neighborhood you live in doesn't say anything about the quality of your soul. Church.
[00:29:36] Do not be haughty is literally translated, don't keep raising your opinion of yourself.
[00:29:50] Don't keep thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to.
[00:30:05] We get ourselves in trouble when we don't admit that we're all human beings and we all make mistakes and we don't get it right.
[00:30:17] We get in real trouble when we think, because I can do something, I can do this thing better than other people, that means I'm better than other people because there's somebody in the world who can do something better than you can. So we would all be xed out in some way. All right, so Paul says, pay attention to how you thinking about yourself and don't let yourself become haughty.
[00:30:48] In fact, everyone is your neighbor, and no one is beneath you treating them well.
[00:30:57] No one is beneath you taking the extra effort to treat them well.
[00:31:03] All right?
[00:31:04] The trouble is, we live in a celebrity culture, and we've made arrogance of virtue.
[00:31:12] In this celebrity culture, we've made arrogance of virtue.
[00:31:18] We look at these celebrities, and most of them, their lives don't work. I mean, all you have to do is watch the news. Their lives don't work.
[00:31:27] But because they have celebrity status and they have a way of shunning the commons person, we begin to think that's what it looks like to be successful, and it's just the opposite. Church.
[00:31:49] If these people were living quality lives and their lives were working, I guarantee you they wouldn't be arrogant. They're hiding their failures, their inability, their incompetence behind arrogance.
[00:32:05] Don't get too close to me. I'm too good for you. Okay? But really, don't get too close to me. You'll see I'm no better than you are, and then I lose my celebrity status. Church, it's ugly, and it's not a good life skill. Here's a good life skill.
[00:32:25] Everyone likes to feel like they matter.
[00:32:29] And everyone we meet, if we treat them like they matter, if we treat them like they have significance, they're going to do better, and we're going to do better.
[00:32:49] It says associate with the lowly.
[00:32:56] The word associate can also mean accommodate.
[00:33:00] Are you willing to accommodate the lowly?
[00:33:07] Are you willing to put yourself out a little bit to help the lowly go a little out of your way to help this person who hasn't done as well in life as you have done?
[00:33:27] Say the encouraging thing to the kid who's struggling and, and trying to figure life out and isn't quite getting there yet.
[00:33:43] It is a life skill for us to say to ourselves, how can I accommodate those who haven't been as blessed as I am. It is a life skill.
[00:33:59] When we accommodate the lowly, we're living by a profound teaching of Christ. Listen to proverbs. Proverbs 328.
[00:34:09] Do not say to your neighbor, go and come again tomorrow, and I will give. I will give it when you have it with you.
[00:34:20] I read that poorly. I got to do it again. Give me one more chance.
[00:34:24] Do not say to your neighbor, go and come again tomorrow, and I will give it when you have it with you. You know what he's saying?
[00:34:34] When you have the chance to accommodate someone, take it. Right then don't say, well, let me think it over and come back and grovel tomorrow, and I'll see what I'll do for you.
[00:34:48] That's not a life skill. A life skill is God puts me in life. I'm going through life, I see somebody who is less fortunate than I am. I have an opportunity to accommodate them. And by the grace of God, because I'm living the life that Christ is calling me to live, I accommodate them.
[00:35:14] Eight, you're getting all of them. So if you need to doze off, go ahead, but you're getting all ten of them. Eight if possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
[00:35:33] This is the life skill of sharing a spirit of peace.
[00:35:42] Isn't it pleasant to be around people who have a sense of peace about them?
[00:35:48] Okay, I'm not saying they don't work hard. I'm not saying they are not ambitious. I'm just saying they're not radiating anxiety, they're not leaking tenseness.
[00:36:10] They have an inner peace, and that inner peace is guiding them to be at peace with the world around them.
[00:36:19] And when you are around people like that, you sense the peace.
[00:36:23] That is an incredible life skill that will take you very far in life.
[00:36:30] How do we do this? Well, first of all, if I'm gonna share the peace of Christ, I have to receive the peace of Christ.
[00:36:38] And the New Testament calls Jesus the God of all peace.
[00:36:44] Listen to this. God is that kind of being. That's who he is. That's what it's like to be around him.
[00:36:53] People love to be around Jesus Christ. They would come all hours of the day. They would come early in the morning, they would come late at night, they would stay all day. He couldn't get rid of people.
[00:37:04] People just loved being around him. He had this incredible sense of peace.
[00:37:11] Paul called it the peace that passes understanding. All right?
[00:37:16] It is a life skill that if we have a personal experience with Christ, we can receive peace from him, and then we can share it throughout the day.
[00:37:31] Everybody who meets us can get a breath. Air. A breath of fresh air. A little. A little touch of peace.
[00:37:41] All right?
[00:37:43] If you're going to share peace, you don't have to win every debate.
[00:37:49] I know you guys, you got to grind him down at your right. And. Okay, look it. I would rather our church be a place of peace than a campaign central for any candidate. Would you hear me? The elections are coming up, and I do not want you to use the election as an opportunity for you to grind people down and make them see the world the way you see it.
[00:38:20] We believe in soul liberty. So liberty says, we all are responsible to God, and we all make our decisions. And your political opinion is not worth stealing the peace of this church.
[00:38:38] Okay, I'm going to be real plain. If you have to be ugly about politics, then defriend the people from this church.
[00:38:48] I do not want. I do not want this campaign to infect us with all this ugly arguing about this candidate or that candidate, okay? Vote for who you want. God bless you. This is America. We're supposed to do it. But that doesn't give us the right to bully people.
[00:39:10] We have to have a sense of peace.
[00:39:14] And it's been my experience over the years, when these campaigns come around, both candidates are going to say, this is the most important election in the history of America. They say it every year. All right, church.
[00:39:35] The life skill we want is not the ability to debate everybody and grind them down. The life skill we want is the ability to share peace.
[00:39:47] Do you hear me? The skill is not the ability to argue. The skill is the ability to share peace. Anybody can argue.
[00:39:58] Anybody with an opinion and a loud voice can win an argument.
[00:40:03] All right? It takes a whole lot more character to share peace.
[00:40:09] But guess what? Makes the world a whole lot better.
[00:40:13] I've voted since 1972. And they promise you the world, and you don't get it.
[00:40:22] You think the other person is a bad candidate and they turn out doing good stuff. None of them are as bad as you think they are. None of them are as good as you think you are. Peace is more valuable than your political opinion.
[00:40:40] Sometimes the argument does more damage than it's worth.
[00:40:48] Can you hear this in human relationships? Sometimes the argument does more damage than what it's worth. Do you really want somebody to remember the ugly thing you said for the rest of your life?
[00:41:06] Winning the argument? Is it worth that person remembering that ugly thing for the rest of their life? Church.
[00:41:16] It's not a life skill. The life skill is you find a way to bring peace to everything you do.
[00:41:24] That life skills will create memories that are rich.
[00:41:31] Nine beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink, for by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head.
[00:42:00] That is an odd verse, isn't it? Sometimes the Bible shocks me.
[00:42:08] This life skill is abandoned, the impulse to get even.
[00:42:13] All right, this is for everybody 40 and under, 45 and under.
[00:42:19] You may get your revenge, you may get even, but you don't know how life twists and turns.
[00:42:28] And you don't know what might become of the person that you got even with.
[00:42:35] You don't know where they might end up in life.
[00:42:39] You don't know that if sometime in the future, if you had kept them as a friend, it would have been a whole lot better than you getting even with them. Church revenge often damages the one who takes it more than the one who receives it.
[00:43:01] And God said, here's a life skill. Give up your impulse to get even. You don't have to get even, because God is a God of justice.
[00:43:15] Only God is wise enough and just enough to get even properly.
[00:43:23] If your neighbor is your enemy, some of you are going, doc, this doesn't work. My neighbor's my enemy. You don't know what they're like. All right, this is what Paul says to you. If you really think this person is your enemy, God still requires you to follow his teaching about being a good neighbor.
[00:43:43] You being a good neighbor is not about the quality of them, it's about your quality. And God said, if you are a good neighbor and they take advantage of you, he will handle that, and it will not be pleasant.
[00:44:00] God calls for acts of kindness, a meal, a drink.
[00:44:06] Good neighboring that is taken advantage of will not go well for the person who does it.
[00:44:15] So always be a good neighbor.
[00:44:18] All right, number ten.
[00:44:24] Live in the power of what is good.
[00:44:29] You get to decide, do you live in a good world or a bad world?
[00:44:34] If you think you live in a bad world, you end up treating bad like it's more powerful than good.
[00:44:41] I hear people say to me all the time, oh, bad's winning. No, bad isn't winning at all. Bad has never won, and it never will win because good is more powerful than bad.
[00:44:53] You're just not looking at the right thing. Four young men were arrested for a crime spree in Medina. And people look at those four young men and they go, oh, man, these teenagers. The world's a wreck. 70 kids are gonna get on a bus next week, and they're gonna go and do a week long mission trip. Those 70 kids will not make the news. Nobody will know. We're gonna clap for them next Sunday. We're gonna cheer them onto the bus.
[00:45:20] The newspaper's not gonna write an article. The tv's not gonna come. And so people get to think, oh, look at these four bad kids. They see the four bad kids, but they don't see the 70 good kids. Do you see what I'm saying?
[00:45:34] Good do not be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.
[00:45:41] We live in the power of goodness. And no matter where you are and no matter what's happening, good is always stronger than evil. Evil has momentary.
[00:45:57] Evil has momentary flashes. But good is always greater than evil. Remember, he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.
[00:46:07] All right, now I'm going to say, I'm asking you to do a lot of stuff. What is the payoff for you?
[00:46:14] Proverbs ten seven.
[00:46:17] The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
[00:46:26] Do you hear this? You learn great life skills, and your memory will be a blessing to people.
[00:46:37] You do not learn life skills, and you go along with the wicked world we live in, and your memory will rotate. God said, I value you treating people right. I value you growing into your full potential. I value you developing these life skills. And when you do that, you will be remembered. And people will say what a blessing that person was.
[00:47:07] If you fold and go along with the world around you, your name will rotate.
[00:47:14] Our dear heavenly father, I ask that this scripture would be persuasive to us.
[00:47:22] I ask that there would be something about it that starts resonating in our soul. And we say, dear God, I want to be that kind of person. I want to do those things.
[00:47:33] And then I pray that day by day, your spirit would be in us calling these things out of us, and men would see our good work and glorify you in heaven. Amen.
