But anyhow, it's always awesome to see God do those things. And I get to share it with all the students, because she does a sewing class, so they always want to know. And I just always can't wait to share those things that God does, because he knows our bodies. He heals. So anyhow, we were really happy, to say the least. And I had gone through that. I sure as heck don't want to see my wife go through that. Last time I taught we were in Colossians 2, we'll be in 3 tonight. We were talking about that we're worthy to receive the calling. And sometimes I really can't wrap my mind around that, that we are worthy, that I'm worthy. I know you guys are. And that we're qualified. You know, it's always nice if you go and you apply for a job that you're qualified for or that you're, you know, college you qualify. But being qualified for Jesus is a whole nother level. It's easy to qualify if you accept him and submit to him. And I think the submission has to be learned. For the longest time, I don't think I understood that. I don't know if I still do. But we can't do that without the Holy Spirit. And I think that that's where it comes in. There's people that try to submit, but they don't understand that the Holy Spirit is a person that lives in us and does all these things. So, you know, it's a struggle sometimes, but it's available to us, and we're qualified, so, you know, when we submit to Him, our lives are changed. I always came across with the attitude of, I had to come to the place where, if I'm supposed to be giving something over to the Lord, I would have to kinda not care about it anymore. And I think that's something that I had to learn, or that God used, that God did that in me, You know, you give, you say, okay, I'm not gonna worry about this thing, like, it's my wife's surgery, you know. The stuff goes through your mind, but it's like, okay, no, it's yours, Lord. And, uh, well, I've lost some miracles. When I first moved here, like five years ago, I bought this house and was renovating it, and I lost all the sense in my my olfactories, and my taste, my smell, and all that. And so they went and they did an MRI, and they said I had these lesions on my brain. And they said that I had demyelinating, I don't know what it's called. The coating on my nerves was deteriorating. And they told us that I could have six to eight months to live five years ago. And so we went home, and we just talked about the stuff we had to. And we went to bed, and we woke up, and I said, wow, I slept like a log. She said, so did I. I said, wow, that's peace. So I was playing my guitar one night. I keep talking about that, and they're going to put me up here. I'm not trying to do that. And I was sitting. I've told my kids this, and I get cold chills about it. I was playing my guitar and just worshiping and just saying, Lord, I don't know what to do, and I felt a hand touch my head. So, not on the outside. And so we went to Banner in Tucson, and the guy said, you don't have that. I said, you're not going to look at the MRI? He says, I don't have to. So anyhow, I think I was healed there, too. Or God just showed me he was there. But either way, that peace that we get with God in our lives, I don't think a lot of people can understand that. And I know God's given me a great peace about a lot of things. So, you know, I'm so blessed that he shows himself the way he does. in my life, my wife's life, and that we get to share it. She works at a hospital. I know she's going to share what's happened to her. Most people know already because Facebook. I keep updates on there because our kids are Maine. But even to our kids. Aaron that was here, he's really the only one that was serving the Lord. He's back in there. He's doing fine. But our other kids aren't. They've come and go. So, you know, these are all things that they see in our lives. And I know, I mean, probably can stand all you guys up here and tell about the things that the Lord's done in your life. And it's an amazing thing to do because You know, the world doesn't have that. I was talking, we went to the cemetery to put wreaths out, and the kids, the high school kids were with me, and there was a couple of Mormons over there, and they said, we want to go talk to them. And I said, sure, go ahead. And then they said, oh, it's not that easy, is it? So I let them. be tortured for a while, then I said, let's go talk to them. I said, you guys have to be respectful. So I told them we're from the school here and the kids want to ask them some questions. And the kids came away understanding that they believe there's no hell. There's some other level. I don't know anything a lot about it. And so, you know, we just did a little brief encounter and we got back talking about it and I said, so why would Jesus die on the cross if there's no hell? Why would we have to have our sins paid for if there's no punishment? And what kind of a horrible world would it be if we could do whatever we wanted and there was no punishment? I mean, I see something nice, I'm taking it. I mean, you know? So, I said, that makes no sense. So, anyhow, rabbit trail. But I know God uses all the stuff in our lives and all the stuff that we've been through. That's what I'm getting at. Every time that we go through things that are hard, it's when we learn. And then when I see people, I have a friend in Maine that's, we grew up in the ministry. Well, he's, I don't know, like 12 or 30 or something. You know, he's a young guy, but he's going through a really hard time right now. And I was talking to him, just trying to encourage him, said, just sit back and see what God's gonna do because that's when we get changed and we turn into the people that he uses and you know with our pasts and the stuff that we've been through there are people coming along that are hurt and that need that and and it's just it's a cool thing I don't know with the Christmas season you know with gifts and all that I'm about the biggest bah humbug here probably oh and well okay next to the biggest and um And I always was before I got saved. I got saved when I was 43. But then I come to understand Jesus, and I love that part of Christmas, but now it just makes me even more bitter about the stuff that goes around about Christmas. But we have gifts, and we've been given stories, not stories, accounts, and things that have happened that people are going through. The reason I wanted to take the kids to talk to the Mormons is to show them that there's a boldness that comes from the Holy Spirit that we can access, that we can talk to anybody. I'm going to start this in a minute. When I was at the Blues Festival last year, I had been out of the hospital for, I don't know, like three weeks. There's something about sharing the gospel with people that really lights me on fire and I'm trying to get, I want to get the youth involved this year because When you're standing, I had a group of high school students, they were football players, there were six of them, the boys, and I'm talking to them, and when somebody's listening to you, when you're talking about Jesus and they're engaged, I'm standing back to myself going, oh, this is awesome. And it's not me, because I have nothing, it's the Holy Spirit. And so I'm trying to, so I want to be praying. I want to pray for the high school students, or these guys that are graduating. The 11th grade class is a big class here. And I want to pray that those are our new warriors, because I don't know if you looked around the room, but there's a lot of gray hair. But we have a lot to share. But some people we're not going to connect with. Like, you know, but these kids have, you know, they're into that instant gratification thing. And I don't understand, you know, how to bring this to them, except I said, look, when you guys, I'll take somebody up and talk to somebody about Christ with them and just stand there and watch and listen and understand that I don't care about their sin. I don't care about anything except that they don't know Jesus. You know, those two lesbian girls, I just sat there and prayed at that blues festival, and I said, Lord, who do you want me to talk to? And these two lesbian girls are holding hands, coming up, and I asked them if I could talk to them. And one of the kids said, do you talk about that? I said, no, I don't care about that. Don't care. They don't know Jesus. It's not my problem. It's God's problem, right? But I had such a great conversation with them, they took material from me and went. And so I really, I don't know, I'm really encouraged lately by the miracles and by the, the people that have been changed in the school, because I was really discouraged at the beginning of the year. So let's just stop right now and pray for them. I want to pray for those guys, because I'm burdened for it. So Father, I thank you, Lord, for all you're doing in this school. Lord, and I lift these students up to you. And I pray that we have a new group of warriors that are going to come out for you, Lord, that they would understand what you have for them. they can have this ability to share who you are with all the people around them, and even to those older than them, and our age has nothing to do with it, Lord. I lift them up to you and I pray that you do a great work in this place, and that you fill these teachers, all of us, with your spirit, that we would be great guides for them, Lord. And I just thank you for this place, in Jesus' name, amen. All right. Wow. All right, Colossians 3. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the earth. For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in you. When Christ who is in your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. I use the New Living Translation a lot, and I like what it says in parts of it. It says, since you have been raised to new life with Christ, and I was thinking, you know, I always think about that because when, especially you take Sunday morning when there's a lot of people here, how different everybody would be without Christ and how, I mean, I mean, well, I wouldn't be here because the Lord brought me to New Mexico, to Silver City, but I wouldn't have met my wife. You know, a lot of us wouldn't be friends. We could have possibly be enemies. And that new life with Christ, it said, set your sights on the realities of heaven where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. I like Joe. I like Matthew Henry. He's been dead for a long time. He finished well. I know he's not going to say anything stupid now. He's not going to go on Facebook or Twitter and go, oh, because he died in like 1703 or something. And he says, if you then have risen with Christ, it is our privilege that we have risen with Christ. That is, have benefit by the resurrection of Christ. And by virtue of our union and communion with him are justified and sanctified. and shall be glorified. Hence he infers that we must seek those things which are above. We must mind the concerns of another world more than the concerns of this. We must make heaven our scope and aim. seek the favor of God above, keep up our communion with the upper world by faith and hope and holy love, and make it our constant care and business to secure our title to and qualifications for the heavenly bliss. And the reason is because Christ sits at the right hand of God, who is our best friend. And he said that in John 15, 15, I call you friend. And our head is advanced to the highest dignity and honor in heaven and has gone before to secure to us the heavenly happiness. And therefore we should seek and secure what he has purchased at so vast an expense as taking much care about it. We must live such a life as Christ lived here on earth and lives now in heaven according to our capacities. And I thought, we don't have any capacity to live for Him without the Holy Spirit, but with it we have a huge capacity. We have a huge capacity to have desires removed from our lives that were really trying to wreck us at one point. Jesus said himself in Matthew 26, 64, it is as you said, nevertheless, I say to you, therefore, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. So we have no doubt of his position. I mean, it's talked about a lot in Scripture. He's on the throne. He's changing lives and working. And I don't know if just studying this has stirred me up about what's going on with the students and what's happened with my wife. I'm sure it has. I mean, I don't think that we know our capacity to serve God because if we do, I think then we have more of it and then we can continue to have more capacity. And if we just submit ourselves to him more, I mean, I grew up in construction. I had a construction company. before I was saved. And I didn't even like to talk in front of people. I didn't. I was, well, I was a construction crew. So the things that, so God changed, you know, the hard thing that I thought was going to be was to remove the alcohol. That was the easy thing. He took that desire. The hard part was speech, was my language. Because for 40, well not 40 years, but I was 43, you know, the foul mouth, the language, It's hard to go away. But He's given me the capacity to submit to Him. And I talk about it with the kids. It's like, boy, I don't feel like I'm changed. Well, no, because you're with yourself all the time. But as we go by, you look back and you see where you've come from. That's what I talk about some of these 12th grade girls about. God's doing great things there. When I first gave my life to the Lord, I said to my wife, I said, I don't feel different. She should just act different. Like, what? But it's true. Okay, act the part, will ya? And then after a while, it's like, oh, it's been a couple hours since I said something wrong. Oh, it's been a couple days. It's been a couple weeks. And after a while, that fades away, and it's like, oh, I get it. And, you know, that continual reading of the word over and over again, it's just that changing our minds and It was pretty enlightening when I went to church in Bangor, Maine. Ken Graves, he was an old woodcutter. He's a really simple, the way he teaches is real simple. And I sat in the church and he started reading these things and I'm like, wow, I didn't know that was in the Bible. That makes sense. I mean, I, you know, like I wasn't way off except, well, you know, I lived a life of hell. But as far as my thought of being, you know, homosexuality and I knew that alcohol was not good and I'd come to the point where I had just said, You know, I wonder if I could quit drinking. And they're like, well, who cares? I mean, you know, that's where I was. But now I've set my minds on things that are above. On verse 2, set your minds on things above, not on the earth. You know, there's a bigger picture. There's more going on. Proverbs says, Proverbs 23, 5 says, will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away like an eagle towards heaven. And yeah, go to the hospital for a while. I mean, we have insurance, but still, they take a big chunk of it. Riches, it doesn't do us any good. You can have all the money you want if you don't have your health. If you don't have Jesus, well, first of all, if you don't have health, there's only so much that money can do. But without Christ, there's nothing money can do. That doesn't help you at all. Setting our minds on God and on things above instead of here, That stuff isn't as important. I mean, yeah, we need it to live and God provides for that. But I mean, you know, you guys that have been believers for a long time know God provides in other ways. I mean, our vehicles may last longer or, you know, I mean, there's all kinds of things that happen. People are blessing people and dropping off things that you needed when you didn't know you did until it broke. And, oh, well, somebody just dropped that off. I love how God provides like that. Psalm 119, 7 through 11 says, I will praise you with uprightness of heart. When I learn your righteous judgments, I will keep your statutes. Oh, do not forsake me utterly. How can a man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word. With my whole heart I have sought you. Oh, let me not wander from your commandments. Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you. you know, just keeping our eyes in the right place. Not only this, but when we serve God and share who He is, there's nothing better, like I said before. I was thinking when I was talking about this, that scripture, it's in Luke 24, 13, in the Road to Emmaus. And I think that's, you know, it happens to us. We have these opportunities. We have these instances. Experiences, I want to say, except I don't want people to think you're going out just for the experience, because that happens a lot. People get all filled with spirit, and then it dies off, and then they're kind of, oh, what am I going to do? It's like, no, we live in the valley. The experiences are important, because it does build a substance. Behold, two of them were traveling the same day to the village called Emmaus. which was seven miles from Jerusalem, and they walked together of all these things. They talked of all the things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so they did not know him. And he said to them, What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? Have you not known the things which happened here in these days? And he said to him, What things? So they said to him, The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth. There was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him from condemned to death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he was, but it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today in the third day since the thing happened, yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. When they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And a certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said, but he did not see them. And he said to him, O foolish ones and slow of heart, believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Christ have suffered these things and not enter into his glory? And they began Moses and the prophets, and expounded to them all the scriptures of the things concerning him. And they drew near to the village, and they were going, and he indicated that he would have gone farther, but they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, but it is towards evening, and the day is far spent. And he went to stay with them. And it came to pass, he sat at the table, took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it. And when their eyes were opened and they knew him, he vanished from their sights. And they said to one another, and I love this part, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road and he opened the scriptures to us? To me, when you get to share with somebody that's listening, that's what happens to me. It's like, this is amazing that somebody's listening to me, but they're listening to me about Jesus, because I was surprised at how many people will actually listen if we take the time to talk to them. But I do the whole thing, well, they're not gonna listen, so I'm not gonna bother. I mean, they don't look like they're gonna, like, I don't know. They're not gonna look like they're gonna get saved. I don't know what that means. But that pre-judging thing, and it's like, but when we make this connection, and I do want these young people to experience this, because they experience a lot of things with electronics and all this stuff, but experiencing Christ is not matched, right? It's not. We set our hearts on things above, we will have these encounters with Jesus as well, and our hearts will burn within us, excited to tell people about them, about Him. Verse 3 says, For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. says you have, the New Living says, you have died with Christ and He has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world? And, you know, that's something that we, I think it creeps in on us just because we live here. You know, that we have the worldly ideas and thoughts and, you know, it's hard like with the school, you know. Well, the public school does it. Well, who cares? I don't care what the public school does. You know, yeah, we have the calendar the same, but, you know, we have a dress code here. People don't like it. Some of them don't. I like it. Our school in Maine didn't have it, and you have, you know, the people that come in that are well off with really nice clothes and a new pair of shoes every week, and the people that can't afford it. And it's like, I actually had to go to this young girl and say, you need to stop bragging about your shoes every week, because these other kids, they probably only have one pair of shoes. You know, it's weird. So I like the uniform, but the rules, we get it all the time. Well, that's a stupid rule. Well, you agreed to come here, so that's the rule. I can't chew gum? Talk to Kenny about that. Try to get gum out of a carpet. So we have all these things, and it's like, guys, it is a privilege to be here, and look what you're learning. Yeah, you're learning academics, but look what you're learning. I mean, I wish I could record some of our Bible classes. It's really interesting. And some of the stuff's wacky that they think about and ask, But they're asking, so we can sort it out. We can sort it out. The world is, you know, one of the questions that I use is, do you know where you're from, why are you here, and where are you going? And one girl said, I never thought of that. Really? Well, I mean, maybe young people don't think about anything. I don't know. So it's always interesting to me that I was at jail ministry one time and I said, you know, John 3, 16. They go, yeah. I said, what is it? I don't know. But they've heard of John 3, 16. They just don't know what it says. Like, well, God so loved the world, he gave his only son. Really? Yeah! That's why people have it on their eyelids, or whoever did that, I don't know. But it's interesting to me, the openness. I mean, the ones that don't want to hear, of course, that's pretty quick and, you know, comes to a close really quick, but... Or rather... keeping the rules of the world. Okay, rather, we have died to Christ, or because of Christ, we have seen a need to die to our worldly desires and follow His. Before we were in Christ, we did not see the need for Jesus to rule us. I always thought, well, you know, they're religious, they need that, they're weak. apparently I'm weak, obviously. When we receive the Holy Spirit, it is made clear to us that change is needed to come. That is a part of the job of the Holy Spirit to convict. Unfortunately, we have some people that think they are the Holy Spirit, and we have to kind of sort through that, like, you're not the Holy Spirit, you can't convict them, you can just talk with them, because, you know, I think we just get a little overzealous sometimes, but you know, not knowing that we need Christ. It was surprising to me because I thought I was a pretty good person. I grew up in a Catholic church and by the time I was 16 I had enough of that. I did funerals, I was an altar boy, all that stuff. And I thought, well, I was pretty good, so if somebody asked me, are you a Christian? I'd go, well, I believe in God, so I guess I am. Well, then I found out who Jesus was and that was shocking because I was going to hell. And I think my wife is actually the first person that ever prayed for me, because that's when I met her I got saved. But I wasn't around Christians. I was the first one in my family to get saved. My sister is now, and a couple of my children are. But I didn't know that I needed that. I didn't know that we're all weak. You know, this guy, you don't want to come across as weak. Oh, I need to go to church. I went into the lumberyard one day, It was a Wednesday or Thursday, whenever our midweek service was, and I said, I gotta get out of here. I gotta get to church. And the guy looks at me and goes, Mama needs to go to church? And I'm like, well, I don't call my wife Mama anyhow. I go, no, she's working. I'm going to church. And he's like, yeah, right. I want to go to church. I want to learn. And he didn't even know what to say. I didn't either, because I wasn't expecting that. But it's like, you know, men, we can go to church. It makes us strong. It makes us understand the need that we have for Christ. It makes us see what we're lacking. I mean, we're all lacking a lot without Christ. You know, we don't know how to run our households. We don't know about our finances. The Lord taught me a lot about that, about, you know, my priorities that I shouldn't be spending all my time. I mean, money was my God. I mean, when I met my wife, I was working seven days a week because, hey, why take off Sunday? I can make a couple hundred bucks. Why would I do that? That's crazy. I don't even want to work now. But, you know, these things, we don't see that. We don't see any of that without the Holy Spirit in us. We don't see the need for all these things in our lives of how to raise our children, you know, what love is, how to love our children. I mean, I scolded, paddled my kids out of anger. Not to correct them. It's like they drove me crazy. I mean, I didn't beat them. I didn't, you know, none of them, they're all fine. They all respect me. They're good. But we don't understand that need that we have that makes us right with God. One of the kids said something about, he's all upside down. I said, well, he's, the world's upside down. We're right side up. But, cause we understand what's up. Right? The world does not know. They just think there's stars up there. They don't know how they got there. We know. So, being filled with the Spirit, you know, then we get that whole thing of, judge not, like we were talking about, fruit inspectors. We are to be fruit inspectors, though. Right? Matthew 7 talks about that. We are to correct our brothers and sisters, but not in a condemning way. It's something we've been working on with some of the kids is, how do you correct somebody In love, how do you say something to somebody without damaging them? Oh, I was, you know, when I first got saved, I was, man, I was cutting off ears. I was, you know, my wife's like, whoa, you know, you need to relax a little bit. And that's damaging, but when we wrap it up with love, and these kids, you know, Lexi Hooper, she goes here, and she was a handful. Her and I did not get along. And I don't know if you guys saw the video for the Feed the Need. She says, I understood I'm at a place where the teachers really love us. And that's a big deal to me, because we do. We're investing in these kids. It's not just a job. We invest in the people around us. You guys invest in your kids, your grandkids, whoever's in your path. And it's a slow process. And to me, finding the place to find that where I'm not chopping off ears with, well, the Bible says this, so I have to go. Oh, yeah, that hurt. Okay, I'll try to be better. That's why I have a wife. She's my helper. I used to write letters to the editor a lot. There was this group in Maine that, you know, they wrote anti-Christian stuff all the time. So I wrote letters to the editor, and I put scripture. They always printed them. But I always make sure my wife read it first and softened it a little bit, because, like, okay. My doctor one day says, well, you take it pretty hard on those letters to the editor. I said, I don't take it hard. They don't even know me. They just are hateful because of Christ. They don't even know who I am. I get a kick out of it because you say something and like everybody's hackles are like, ah, like what? It's just what the Bible says. When I first got saved, my sister said, I don't like your version of the Bible. I'm like, you mean my version? Mine would be erasable. I'm like, I don't like that. Wouldn't we like, I don't want to take that. I don't want to have that in there. It's not our version. It's God's version, right? And that's what's nice about it. We are dead to the things of the world. Even though they tempt us, we're dead. If we have truly given our lives to Jesus, then our life is not ours to play around with. We may act that way, but it's not. I have to remind myself, I gave my life to Christ. I'm not in charge of it now. I want to do His will. I don't, I don't always do as well, obviously, we're all human, but, and I heard someone the other day say, one of the kids said, we all lie, and I don't know where that came from, and it's kind of like dismissing lying. And I'm like, wait a minute, that's, no, don't say that. Well, we all lie. So like, what, we can just continue to lie? You know, it's, we live here, but we're supposed to be dead to it. We can try to justify our actions, but there are certain things in our lives that we shouldn't have. I ask my students all the time, what would you do? Would you do this thing or act this way if Jesus were standing here and not me? Then I have to ask myself that. What I said that, if I was talking to Jesus, not those kids. It's really condemning. I know why God's got me teaching. It's the only thing I can measure myself by. I can't compare what I'm doing or saying to others around me, even if they're godly. If I'm hanging around with all a bunch of saints, I still can't measure myself by them, because there's flaws. We all have flaws. The standard's Jesus. Proverbs 28, 22 states, do not remove the ancient landmarks which your fathers have set. And I really like that. That's something that's stuck with me for a long time, because so many people say the Bible's antiquated, and it's not relevant. Well, it's not relevant to the way you're living because it interrupts what you're doing. It's not, you know, if you want to talk about it that way. But, you know, God doesn't change. It works. The rules work. You know, we all, you know, of course, now that we live it, I don't even know where we're going to be another 25 years, hopefully in heaven. Hopefully the Lord's going to return. But with this whole, I mean, I saw a thing the other day on Facebook and it said, just because you have this woman body part, that doesn't make you a woman. And I replied, yes it does. You know, I'm like, come on. When we were in high school, most of us, that wasn't an issue, right? It wasn't like, oh, I wonder if this person's male or female. I mean, it wasn't a town I grew up in. It was like a thousand people, so, you know, a bunch of rednecks. So it was very easy to tell. But like, the stuff that the kids have to deal with now, it's really disturbing. And, you know, verse 3, it says, For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ. You know, Christ is hidden, our salvation is hidden with Him, but He is returning. we reveal to us, and this comes back to the piece that passes all understanding, the ability to possess this quality is not revealed to everyone. That whole, you know, things can get crazy, but Well, panicking doesn't do any good. Pastor Maine's mother used to say, gosh, she must be near 80 now, she goes, why pray when you can worry? It's like, exactly. You know, people are like, yeah, don't pray, just worry about it, you'll be fine, you know. Worrying doesn't help. I actually had someone say one day, I've had a grudge against this person for a long time. I said, really? I said, why? Oh, they know. I says, I bet they don't. I says, the only one that's bothering is you. No, they are too. And I'm like, Don't think so. All these things that we, you know, what is it, C.S. Lewis says we have this, we have this level that we expect everybody else to attain that we don't. We can't even, we can't even reach that. We expect this behavior out of everybody else, but we don't have it. It's like, oh yeah, I don't grudge against them, so they're miserable. I doubt it. I mean, unless they're calling him every day. I have a graduate student, but it was a high school student, I'm sure. Well, maybe not. It was a high school student. Changes that come in our lives that we do ourselves don't last, but the power of Jesus makes the changes permanent. We talk about that a lot. Behavior, we try to be good. You can try all you want, and we can act. Like I said before, I had to start acting the way that I was supposed to act, but it became my life. But habits are hard to break. They say that, what is it, 25 days straight to do something to create a habit? And so if you have years of it, like some of us have had, it's really hard. But verse 4, when Christ who is in our life appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory. I love that, you know, being in His presence. That's going to be the day. It's unexplainable. I mean, we can't understand it. We don't live there. But to be clothed in righteousness, no more sin, no more tears, no more pain, no more money, no more politics, no more news. Well, good news, but no more news. You know, no more. It's just that appearing that we'll be with Him in glory. Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. You know, the whole, the love thing. You know, God, He's love. Well, yeah, He is love, but you don't understand what love is. Because God's just. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want justice. I want grace and mercy. But there is a wrath coming. And that's why we don't want to be caught in these things. I'm always praying, and just, Lord, If there's something that I'm doing that I'm touching or that I have that's not of you, Lord, then make it go away, right? We don't want to be, you know, the Lord returns and we're doing that thing that we thought was not a big deal that separates us from Him. There's a negativity in this part of it, and negativity goes, that's a part of life. But like I said before, we go through stuff that's not fun. You build a business. I had a business. It wasn't fun starting, being hungry, trying to get work, you know, as a contractor. It was just... You know, you have 25 good jobs, one that's not so great, and that's one that everybody hears about. It's the pain of it. But on the other end of it, it's like, oh, okay, there was a reward to that. You know, we have, there's things that have to be paid for. God has blessed us. Things don't come easy. You know, our health, you know, if you are young and healthy and you exercise and all that. I don't like to exercise. I like to do things that are exercise. Me and my wife like to hike. I like to play tennis, although I haven't since I lived here. But as treadmill, that's a good dust collector. I just don't like to eat healthy, although I've been scolded on that in the last eight months. You know, I like meat. This doctor up there told my wife, I stopped eating meat and my cholesterol went way down. I feel like saying, well, good for you, because all he eats is vegetables. I don't know. I don't get it. I'm kind of like Joe on that. It's like green. Well, green chili is green. OK, that's green chili works, right? And I've learned a lot. I don't know how I get so addicted to that. It all takes work, but it's not fun at the beginning. I mean, dieting isn't fun. Getting open-heart surgery wasn't fun, but I'm through it and I feel great. It was not fun. There's negativity to the positive stuff. It's something that we have to work at. Putting to death your old members which are on the earth, that's something else that we can't do alone. Those old desires, those old habits, the language, what we watch, the being constantly bombarded with the anti-male stuff on commercials that men are idiots. I mean, I really hate that. And for the record, my wife does too. It's like, you know, they've just, what they're trying to do is, you know, make all these soft young boys that get in touch with your feminine side. My pastor, Maine, said, we don't have one. God removed that when he took the rib out of Adam and made Eve. That's our feminine side. We're married to him. Right? We don't have to be, you know, it doesn't mean we don't do dishes and vacuum. That's my deal. But we do. But we don't have to get in touch with our feminine side. I touch my feminine side. Well, usually she's next to me. But so, you know, we, that's, yeah, I lost it. Anyhow, okay, so, oh yeah, putting to death the members of our, which are on the earth, and all these lists of sins, because these things, the wrath of God is coming, in which you yourselves once walked and you lived in them. We have, a lot of us have gone through these things, they've almost killed us. You know, my stepson Aaron, you know, he was a heroin addict for a long time, and he almost died twice, and he got pulled over once and swallowed his drugs. And it was God to me because he threw up and it would have killed him. And then when he came, he came a couple years ago and visited. He was here for like a few days and ended up at the hospital in Tucson with a, I don't know what you call it. He had an infection, a blood infection, and he had a piece of stuff hanging off his heart valve that was like three or four centimeters long. And if it broke off, it would have killed him. And he had to go through all that. And you watch our kids do that stuff and it's like, You know, these things that we're living in, it's hard to watch, I mean, it's hard to watch your kids destroying themselves when you're like, oh, all you gotta do is just stop. Just, Jesus is right there, right? But, you know, we can't be judgmental. Well, I can't, because I did the same thing for way longer. I had a dream when I was 16, and I fought that till I was 43. I'm stubborn. You know, but it finally, God, He did not leave me alone. He didn't. He kept going until I, like, you get it, stupid? Like, you're not going to survive this thing. And my dad died at my age of a heart attack. So the one shot, he had the big one, that was it. But now, verse 8, but now you yourselves are to put off these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. And to me, those are hard. I used to have a terrible anger problem, and God removed that. My son did too. We worked together. Throwing tools gets expensive. And God's changed both of that in our lives. And it's dangerous, too. It all depends what you're throwing. But a hammer, you don't want to throw, I mean, you hit someone with a hammer, you know, it's not so easy to throw a nail gun. It's attached to something. But those are the things, right? But now you yourselves are to put these things off. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man and his deeds, and have put on the new man. You know, we know, you guys all know this, Romans 12 too. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable perfect will of God. You know, we have, you know, when I first started going to Calvary Chapel, my mother was going to Catholic churches. You in a cult? They brainwashing you? And I said, well, my brain is getting washed, because it needed to be. But, you know, it's not a cult. It's like, I don't know. People don't understand that. Do not lie to one another. We have to be honest. And sometimes that's painful to be honest to people around us. I don't fall for the whole, honey, does this shirt make me look fat? I just go, don't ask me those questions. That's not fair. Yes, no, I don't. And I had a friend that said, no, your fat makes you look fat. And I'm like, oh, gosh. He was not a believer. It's like, don't set me up. She doesn't do that anyhow. I mean, it's, well. But, you know, being honest with kids, I do that in school and one of the kids said to me, you're rude. I said, I'm not rude. Well, I mean, not that I'm not, but that's not rude, that's blunt. I'm saying you can't do this thing. And it was like, Oh, I'm like, well, yeah, because kids nowadays use rude all the time. I don't know if you guys are around kids. It's like, that's rude. Like, no, that's not rude. I don't know. The English language is changing. I don't know if we'll be able to talk to anybody in another 15 years. Let's just talk to each other. I don't know. It's kind of a strange thing. It's like, guys, that's not what it means. It's not loving to let your child play out in the middle of the road. That's true, and sometimes it's hard because they want to, you know. Well, too bad. No. I had a kid. I'm the bad guy at school for the teachers, so when I have the little kids that are like, I don't know how old they are, kindergarten, I don't know, hire them and those guys, I don't know how old they are. So when they get bad, they come to me and they sit out in my room in the chair in the corner. And so I had this little guy, I don't remember his name, and he was flipping out, screaming, you know, twisting all inside out that they're not going to stand up, you know, that whole rubber legs thing. So I picked him up, put him in a chair, and I said, you are going to sit there, and you're not going to make any noise. I have a class going on here, and you're going to be quiet. And if you're quiet, I'll let you go back. And he stopped crying. Oh, so apparently nobody's ever told him you can't do that. And the kids are looking at me, and I'm looking at them. Wow, that doesn't work on all of them. And he sat there really good. And he was there 15 minutes, not a peep. And I said, OK, you can go back to your class. You're going to be nice? Yep. And I was like, has no one ever told him you can't freak out? I mean, I guess he might be one of those families that doesn't say no. But I mean, sometimes it's weird how you I reach people, it's like, oh, I didn't know I couldn't do that. Yeah, you can't do that. I've had a kid in Maine that did that. And I just look around and say, you see anybody else doing that? No. OK, stop it. Oh, OK. I do it to little kids. Do you see me hitting Mr. Billy? I mean, in front of anybody? Do you? No. We don't hit each other. I wouldn't hit Ricky. I love Ricky. But, um, put on the new man, verse 10. I'm so glad I'm renewed in the knowledge of Him who created me. I don't know about you guys, but I get so sick of this racist stuff. I don't even notice. My dad was a horrible racist, whatever you call him. He would say, this person's last name, Alvaro, whatever. I'm like, I don't even know. I'm clueless to what somebody's name, what nationality it is. I really don't care. I have grandkids of all colors. They're awesome. I don't know. We'll go to a restaurant, and I'll say, who is our waitress? Which one was it? The Asian one? The one with the black hair? I pay no attention. I look at people's eyes and I don't even think about that. It's awesome because my dad set me up to be that person, the bad guy. I knew every slang name for every, because on the East Coast, you know, you got Italians, and you got the Jews, and you got the... I don't even know what all those names were that he used. And it's terrible, and it's like, you know, this world that we live in, I mean, look at us, there's... we don't want to all look alike. It'd be really weird. But I, you know, and I really like that here. Poor Aaron, he was the only black kid in the state of Maine, I think. I don't know. And he used to walk down the sidewalk, and I'd be like, oh, he's trying to be a gangster. Look at him. And he had the walk going in the pants. I mean, he was one of those droopy drawers that the cops loved to run after because they'd fall down and trip on their pants. And his mother, we'd pick him up, and she goes, you know you're half white. Stop it. But we're all the same. God doesn't care whether you're Greek or Jew, circumcised or not. He doesn't care. Christ is in all. Christ is all and in all. We don't have any, you know, Margaret Sanger. I mean, what a horrible thing. We've been educating the kids on Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger and that horrible thing of setting up Planned Parenthoods in black neighborhoods. And they're like, what? Yeah, yeah, they're trying to exterminate. I mean, it's horrible. It's not the way it should be at all. God never wanted it that way. And then here's the hard one, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. And I told people, you have to love each other, but you're not going to always like each other. Some people just don't like characters. It's fine. Just treat them like you love them, or be loving. That didn't sound right. Don't make believe you love them. We do love them. You guys have been places, and you start talking to somebody and go, oh, there's something about that person. They're a believer. Then all of a sudden, you find out, it's like, oh, we have this thing in common already. I know, I love that. It's like that connection. It's like, oh, you're a believer. I had a friend that she was in, her parents used to take care of my son. I have a son that's deaf, and I had custody of him when he was four. So I worked, so these people took care of him. And she was in high school then. She's 40 now. And she came over to the house. She works for the Lumberyard. She came over to our house, and me and my wife were there. And she walked in, and my wife looked at her, and she says, you got saved. And she just started crying. She goes, yeah. And we're like, wow. That was really, like she didn't even say anything. And she could see it on her, the difference in her. And it's like, you know, so we're still really close. But it's always nice to have that. You know, you have those friends that, you know, the opposite of our other friends that are, that try us, bearing with each other, forgiving one another. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful." Last church I went to, the pastor, they've had a little bit of trouble there. He's really a hard guy. And I think the Lord moved me here to learn about love from Joe. He's a unique guy, and he really is a loving person. I mean, anytime, I mean, you guys know, he's always checking on people. He's always doing that, and I didn't have that before I moved here. That's a huge part of our walk with the Lord is that loving part of it, because let the peace of God, 15, rule in your hearts, to which you also are called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with the grace of the hearts of the Lord. And whatever you do in word and deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Giving thanks to God. the father in heaven, father through him. You know, you guys, I do this thing where somebody's on my mind and I don't call them or something. So this friend that's dealing with this stuff in Maine, I hadn't talked to him, I saw him last summer when I was up there, but before that I hadn't seen him since I left. It's just, our lives are crazy compared with his. So they have four kids, they're young. And he's been on my mind, so I texted him the other day, and I'm like, what's going on? I said, you've been on my mind. And he said, you don't even know the timing you have. I ended up calling him, and he's dealing with this big thing at the church. Things seem to be falling apart. And it's all of a sudden, we're back talking like I never left. And it's just that whole, that, you know. And I just realized, how many times have I quenched the Holy Spirit and not called that person that's on my mind? So now I'm a little more quick to it. And I was just actually thinking of, I don't know if you guys know Zach Donnelly. I haven't seen him in a while here. He's a young guy. He comes to both services on Sunday. He was up in Sunday school. I haven't seen him in a while. I think his parents used to go here. He's been on my mind, and I'm going to call him. That's never been wrong when I do that. Just send somebody a text, and it's always like, wow, I am dealing with something. Why am I not listening to the Lord? Why am I not heavenly-minded? Why, when these things come to my mind, do I think it's just me? Why would I think that I'm worrying about this person or thinking about him for no reason? You know, God's put in these things. He's a believer, so why is He on my mind? And it's always that thing of, you know, whatever you do in word and deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. of stepping out and just, I mean, so what if you send someone a message and go, no, I'm fine. Okay, that's great. Then they think, oh, he's just checking up on me. That's cool. You know, but my wife isn't here to read this next verse. Verse 18, wives submit to your husbands as in fitting to the Lord. We talk about this a lot with the kids. It's not, we don't have that issue. And that's one thing I've learned in this marriage, since I have some others that I didn't, I wasn't a believer, is we don't have that issue anymore, because we're so like-minded now. I said to my wife the other day, I said, look, I had heart surgery eight months ago. We're one, but you don't need to have it two. And she didn't. She said, see, I'm not copying. But we don't have the issue. submitting to a husband as fitting the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter for them. And I know I said this last time, but when I got married this last time, it's been 16 years now, and I said, you know, my first year was horrible. We have stepkids. We don't have any kids together. I have three kids, she has four. It was one of the worst years, but I was a new believer, and I just said, Lord, how do I, show me how to love my wife. And it was clear as day, he said, love her like she's my daughter. I'm like, oh, okay, Dad. I mean, that's the father-in-law that's, and he's taught me a lot about that, and about how to love her, not be bitter towards them. Anyhow, that's another whole. Children obey their parents in all things. We use it at school a lot. and teachers, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children unless they become discouraged." We're not supposed to discourage our kids. We're supposed to encourage them, right? But still, if they don't want to do their homework, too bad. You have to do it. You'll get a good grade or not. But, bond servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service or man-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart. fearing God. And whatever you do, do it hardly as to the Lord, not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance, for you serve Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality." Again, that justice is there again. But the verse before that, reward of inheritance. That's the inheritance I want. I don't want anything from here. People that fight over an inheritance blows my mind. Like, I'd rather have my mother back. I mean, we, my siblings all were, we're kind of the same. We don't really care. But you know, my wife's family, it's like, they're fighting over something that's so stupid. It's a piece of land. You can't even take it anywhere. It's like, it's in the middle of Maine and nowhere next to nowheresville. And my wife's like, Yeah, okay, well, look, my brother took care of mom, here, this is my part, here, do whatever you want. Like, I'm not doing that thing, so. Anyhow, hope that wasn't too gibberish, I'm really tired. I wanna, if you would just agree with me and pray for my wife, and just praise the Lord. Father, I thank you, Lord, for all you're doing here in this place, in this school. Lord, I lift my wife up to you. I thank you for this miracle that you did in our life and the way you've shown yourself to us. And I pray that we would trust you more and more and that our faith would grow and it would spread around us and that our children and all of us in here, our children and our families, Lord, would see how we trust in you and how you provide for us with our health and sometimes our finances and our needs, Lord. I just thank you for tonight, and I just pray for a safe trip to pick up Kim tomorrow, that that's all done with, and that we can just continue to serve you, Lord. I lift up this town. It needs you bad. And I pray for opportunities for more ways to meet the people in this community, Lord, and to show them who you are. So Lord, just thank you for all you're doing. In Jesus' name, amen.