Hello, everyone. You are listening to Soul Food a la carte, episode 16. Sorry I didn't get one of these out last week. I skipped a week because I had a lot of extra hours I had to work. But I'm back now, and this one's kind of an extra long one, so make up for it. And I've got some stuff in this audio version that's not in the written version. I didn't have time to write it up, but I'm going to include it in the audio. So start with this quotation, the glorious creation And all God's mighty, wonderful works are like garments for Him. Scripture speaks of God clothing Himself with the creation. Clothes demonstrate and accentuate the glory of a man. God's splendor, as reflected in His creation, is given to show His magnificence. The psalmist did not say, Bless the creation, O my soul. A tuxedo on a hanger is impressive to no one. All the greatness of his creation is nothing but fabric on a hanger, unless it is seen as adorning the Lord. And the beauty of the one dressed up is an attribute of the dressed one, not the dress. Oh, the folly of the one who stares at the cloth, and his wonder and marvel terminates on the fabric." It's a good thought when you enjoy the creation. Don't enjoy it like an atheist. Sermon doers of the word listen and obey from James 1 22 to 24. We all know we should put God's word into practice, but that's easier said than done. This passage teaches the keys to getting what you hear into regular practice in your life. Some excerpts. If your daily devotions do not include a plan of action, they are incomplete. And if one of your kids came and asked you for $50, your first question would be, what are you going to do with it? Before I give it to you, I need to know what you're going to use it for. I think God has the same question when we ask him for insight into his word. If I give you this insight that you're seeking, what are you going to do with it? Some other thoughts on James 1, those sermons in that section are all about remembering God's Word. The key to putting God's Word into practice is, first of all, you've got to remember it. It's got to come to mind the moment that you need it, and that's so hard to do. In the past I've talked about checking your mirrors, using the creation as mirrors to illustrate truths about scripture. I've done that a lot, but I've recently come up with a method that is working better. And it's just a reverse of what I was doing. What I was doing is I would look at something in the creation and say, what does that remind me of? What biblical principle can I attach to that thing? And I would just think of whatever came to mind. The problem with that method is whatever came to mind, that's stuff that easily comes to mind. And those are the things I was having trouble remembering. So now I'm doing it the other way around. When I learn a new truth that I want to make sure I can remember or that I'm having trouble remembering, then I start with that truth and then I look for something in the creation that I can use as a memory cue for that particular truth. So I want to be reminded to walk by the Spirit every day. So in my job now, I drive past this giant flag on I-70 in front of the American Hotel that always catches my attention when it's blowing in the wind, and I just think of the wind blows wherever, you know, the Spirit blows wherever it wishes, like the wind. And it reminds me, oh yeah, walk by the spirit. I wanted to remember when I was listening to Psalm 23, and it talked about going through the valley of the shadow of death, the deepest darkness, the purpose of the dark valley is just so the shepherd can get the sheep to the next pasture. That's why you're going through this horrible thing you're going through. And I just, I wanted to remember that. And so now every time on my route that I drive, I see this big valley that always catches my attention. I remind myself, oh yeah, that's the purpose of going through the dark valley. Or I wanted to remember that principle from Isaiah 40 about those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. If I'm getting weak, if I'm getting tired and fatigued, Why is my youth not renewed like the eagles? Well, it's because I'm not putting my hope in the Lord, because that passage says, if you put hope in the Lord, then your strength will be renewed. So I must be putting my hope in this thing I'm doing rather than in the Lord, and I want to remember that. So there's this one mountain that I always notice when I drive by. When I see that mountain, I imagine climbing up it and getting tired, and then remember that principle. It's been great. It's really working well. I urge you to give it a try. Each time you listen to a sermon, you say, man, I want to remember that. Instead of just jotting it down, think of something that you see every day, or you see frequently, and attach it to that so that's a memory cue for you. In the news headlines, are the Methodists rejecting liberalism? Has the denomination ever come back from liberalism? Not that I know of, but there are some good signs in the United Methodist Church. After decades of tolerating gay marriage and ordination of homosexuals, the denomination, driven by pressure from conservative Methodists in other countries, has voted to enforce the prohibition on such practices. So now they're saying no more homosexual ordination or marriage. The question now, will dissenting congregations in the United Methodist denomination leave the denomination graciously? For details, check out Monday's edition of the briefing with Albert Mohler. He goes into detail on that whole thing, gives a good analysis of it. My thought that I wanted to add that he didn't talk about was this thing about them leaving graciously. You know, most denominations They have a way of trapping churches in the denomination, because the denomination owns the building. Even though the congregation of that local church raised the money, built the church, and did all that an independent church would do, still, once they build the church, it belongs to the denomination. So, if the denomination goes south, and that church wants to leave the denomination, they have to leave their building, to give their building away, which is very hard to do, and so it forces them to stay in the denomination. In this case, the conservatives have decided to make a decision that is going to anger the liberals. But they've provided a way for the liberals to leave, so if the liberal churches want to leave the denomination, they can do so, and they can keep their building, which is a very gracious decision to let them do. And that struck me as an example of why 1 Corinthians 11-19 is important. That verse says, no doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. Sounds surprising at first, because divisions are spoken of throughout the book as being such a problem in the church in Corinth. And so you read that, and it's like, wait a second, that makes it sound like divisions are good. And the answer is, it's not good that the divisions exist, but if they do exist, it's important that they not be swept under the rug. When you force churches to stay in a denomination they disagree with, you're just under the guise of unity. That's not really unity. It's just hiding the disunity. And individual churches do the same thing. They refuse to talk about differences, doctrinal differences, under the guise of unity, but really they still have the disunity. It's just hidden. And what that verse says is differences must be brought out into the open so there's a clear distinction that can be seen between those who have God's approval and those who don't. And I think that should be the same thing with churches and denominations. The churches that believe one way should leave the United Methodist Church, and there should be two different groups so that everyone can say that group believes that way and the other group believes this way, and compare it to Scripture, find out which one has God's approval, and accept the one and reject the other instead of trying to force them to merge together. So I think that's a good thing that the United Methodist Church has decided to do. The next sermon, Remember Not the Sins of My Youth, Psalm 25. What should happen to your joy when you sin? Should you be happy because of the forgiveness, or should you be broken with tears of repentance? Is it appropriate to ask for gifts and blessings from God right after you've sinned against Him? And if not, how long should you wait? This message will show you how to properly respond to your sin and how God wants you to think about him after you have sinned. Some excerpts. The main reason we confess our sins to God is not to get him to forgive us. It's because we love him and we become aware of how we've offended him. This is what love does. You confess to the ones you love when you find out you've hurt them. Have you ruined your life? No. God is into recycling. And when you think of someone who has hurt you, follow God's example. Don't remember that person according to their sin. Think about them like God thinks about you. Another sermon from Psalm 25, enjoying God's guidance. When you seek guidance from God in some big decision, you have some tough decision, you say, God, give me wisdom, show me your will. The most important thing is not which option you choose or how it turns out. Far more important is why you choose what you choose. If your attitudes and priorities please God, the decision itself is comparatively unimportant. Think about it. If both options glorify God equally, how important could the decision possibly be? These two messages, this one and the following one, the last two in Psalm 25, will show you what an incalculable treasure God's guidance is, how to receive it, and how to know when you've received it. An excerpt from the first one, when you open your Bible each day, read expectantly. Expect God to speak to you and give you guidance for that day. Listen to sermons the same way. Don't evaluate how well the preacher did. Evaluate how well you listen to God's voice speaking through the proclamation of His word. In that final message in Psalm 25, it gives specifics on how to receive God's guidance. While I believe this is an important message that I need to be reminded of repeatedly, one weakness of this sermon is the assumption that I made when I preached it that in each decision, it's a black and white question of either God guided you or He didn't guide you. Therefore, if you seek God's guidance, you can always be sure that you got it because he promised to give his guidance. I don't believe that way anymore. I now believe that we receive guidance from God in varying measures, just like other blessings. In one decision, I might receive a lot of guidance, and in another, only a small amount. So that's the one thing I would change in that message. Then a little excerpt from the sermon on 1 John 2, 24-28. Do you know the fatal mistake the people made in seeking God's will in Jeremiah 42? When you seek God's will, there's a mistake you can make that will prove disastrous, and it's in Jeremiah 42.3. Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do. See, seeking God's will. Ask God, what should we do, where should we go? Verse six, whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God. No matter what he says, we'll obey. Sounds great so far, right? But then, verse 20, you made a fatal mistake. when you sent me to the Lord your God and said pray to the Lord our God for us and tell us everything he says and we will do it. I have told you today but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you so now be sure of this you will die by the sword. Don't seek God's will unless you're ready to do it whatever it ends up being even if it's not what you hoped it would be. And I want to recommend this YouTube video. It's a 19-minute video. And this guy, you might want to subscribe to his YouTube channel. He really does a great job. The title of the video is, Why Were Some Books Left Out of the Bible? If you have the misfortune of talking with someone who gets his theology from Dan Brown novels, like the Da Vinci Code, You've no doubt heard this question followed by an authoritative pronouncement about how big shots in the church included the books they liked and suppressed the Gnostic Gospels for no reason other than their own biased preferences, or they claimed Constantine pronounced which books would be excluded and included for political reasons and all that kind of stuff. This 19-minute video does a fantastic job explaining why the Gnostic writings were rejected, why the ones that were accepted were accepted, and why the other ones were rejected. I strongly recommend you give it a listen. He does a great job. He also has a 7-minute video clearing up myths on Constantine's role in deciding the canon. That's also very good, and I've got a link for you there as well. And then finally, getting insight from scripture. You need a quick crash course on how to study the Bible? It's a hermeneutics class. The first half of this message covers the key questions to ask when you study the Bible. What is the original intent? Why is this word or phrase sentence here? How does it fit with what came before? What is the main thing being commanded or asserted? What are the implications for my life? What does this imply about the nature of God? And why is it important to God that I know this? Ask those questions and you'll be well on your way to good Bible interpretation.