Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000027S
|
00:00 - You know as a high school kid,
00:01 I didn't have much of an appreciation for poetry. 00:03 Frankly, 00:04 I kind of hated it. 00:05 But today we're gonna look at one famous poet, 00:08 who really did manage to capture my attention. 00:10 And this poet might just have something to teach you 00:13 about getting to the very end of your life, 00:16 and having the ability to look back 00:18 and have absolutely no regret. 00:21 [soulful instrumental music] 00:42 Today I think I wanna talk to you about 00:43 one of the more tragic stories 00:45 that comes out of the early 19th century. 00:47 And that's the case of the famous poet, George Gordon Byron, 00:51 or as most people know him, 00:52 just Lord Byron. 00:54 I've been fascinated by this guy ever since I was a kid, 00:57 because even though I wasn't really a big fan of poetry, 01:01 there was something about his work 01:02 that kind of arrested my attention. 01:04 And there was one poem in particular 01:05 that kind of stuck in my craw, 01:07 just because of the first few lines. 01:09 "She walks in beauty, 01:11 like the night of cloudless climbs 01:13 and starry skies 01:14 and all that's best of dark and light 01:17 meet in her aspect and her eyes." 01:20 Now, at first glance, 01:21 when you read that, 01:22 it looks like a tribute to a beautiful woman, 01:24 the love of the poet's life. 01:26 But once you understand a little bit about who Byron was, 01:29 you quickly realized he had some pretty big problems. 01:31 Yeah, he probably had a specific woman in mind 01:35 when he wrote that poem. 01:36 But over the course of his lifetime, 01:38 he fell in love 01:39 or probably more accurately fell in lust 01:42 with an awful lot of people, 01:43 including some close relatives. 01:45 And by that, 01:46 I'm not just talking cousins, 01:48 but possibly even his own half sister. 01:51 Because he didn't have much, 01:52 in the way of personal moral boundaries. 01:56 Maybe the best single word description 01:58 that we could give Lord Byron is hedonist, 02:00 because a hedonist is somebody that lives for pleasure. 02:04 And maybe the most telling fact about his life 02:06 is just how short it was. 02:08 This guy was dead by the age of 36. 02:11 Of course, 02:13 lots of people die young for all kinds of reasons. 02:14 And in Byron's case, 02:15 he died from an infection he picked up 02:17 while visiting Greece in order to support 02:19 their war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. 02:23 But everything up to that point in his life 02:25 suggests that he was probably gonna die young, 02:27 no matter what happened. 02:29 Wherever he happened to be because he was, 02:32 well, a hard living young man. 02:35 And I suppose I could regale you 02:37 with all kinds of salacious stories 02:38 about Lord Byron's romantic encounters; 02:41 but I don't think I have to. 02:42 Because most people in our generation, 02:45 have no trouble imagining what kinds of things 02:47 he might've been doing because 02:49 well, to put it bluntly, 02:51 a lot of people in our generation 02:52 have been living like hedonists themselves. 02:55 The motto for our generation was probably best stated 02:58 by Life Magazine back in 1969, 03:00 where an article described 03:02 the growing counter culture movement, 03:04 by saying that its sacraments 03:06 were sex, drugs and rock and roll. 03:09 And as many people now realize, 03:12 Western civilization has paid an enormous price 03:15 for that lifestyle. 03:16 Ranging from the explosion in sexually transmitted diseases, 03:19 to the decline of the nuclear family, 03:22 to a general increase in selfishness, 03:24 that appears to value personal pleasure 03:27 above just about anything else. 03:29 Back in the 1970s and 80s, 03:31 we called ourselves the Me-generation, 03:33 as if putting self first, 03:35 was some kind of brand new phenomenon 03:37 that suddenly emerged in the 20th century. 03:41 The truth is, 03:42 we've all been selfish most of the time. 03:45 And it's a condition that dates all the way back 03:47 to the beginning of recorded history. 03:49 And what happens from time to time 03:51 is that various societies, 03:53 suddenly seem to forget why we have moral boundaries. 03:56 And we begin to ignore things like self-control 03:59 or restraint. 04:01 With our own generation, 04:02 I think we've actually come to the point 04:04 where we've not only pushed the boundaries of civility. 04:07 We now make fun of people 04:08 who still respect those boundaries. 04:12 A virgin waiting for marriage? 04:13 Most people shake their heads. 04:15 They can't believe somebody would do that. 04:17 They think there's something wrong with that person. 04:19 Somebody who never cheats or never lies, 04:21 not even on their income tax? 04:24 Well, that's another butt of jokes. 04:26 Somehow the things we all used to agree on, 04:28 the boundaries that kept our civilization civilized. 04:33 Well, a lot of them now seem like a curiosity 04:35 from some other planet. 04:37 So no, 04:38 I don't need to tell you the exact stories of Lord Byron, 04:40 because honestly his story is now probably our story. 04:45 We're a people with very little restraint. 04:48 Which brings me to something important 04:49 that Byron wrote 04:51 in a saga known as, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. 04:54 As you've probably guessed, 04:55 it's the story of Harold. 04:57 A young man who goes on a pilgrimage 04:59 to a number of countries, 05:00 starting in Portugal and Spain, 05:02 and ending in Greece; 05:03 where he bemoans the condition of people 05:05 living under the Ottomans. 05:07 And of course, 05:08 it doesn't take long as you read this, 05:10 to realize that Byron is really talking about himself. 05:12 This is autobiographical. 05:15 And at one point he says something 05:17 that should make us all pay attention. 05:19 Now, the language is a little bit dated 05:23 and it is poetry. 05:25 And I'm gonna struggle as I read this to you, 05:27 but I hope you'll catch the essence of what he's saying. 05:30 It says, 05:31 "Whilome in Albion's aisle, 05:34 there dwelt a youth, 05:35 who ne in virtue's ways to take delight" 05:37 So other words, 05:39 this guy didn't appreciate virtue. 05:41 "But spent his days in riot, 05:43 most uncouth and vexed with mirth, 05:45 the drowsy ear of night." 05:47 So he parties all night. 05:48 "Ah, me! 05:50 In sooth he was a shameless wight. 05:52 Sore given to revel and ungodly glee. 05:55 Few earthly things found favor in his sight. 05:58 Save concubines and carnal companie, 06:00 and flaunting was sailers 06:02 of high and low degree." 06:05 What he's describing here in essence, 06:07 is a party animal. 06:08 Somebody who's devoted to the pursuit of pleasure. 06:11 And what this really is, 06:13 is a description of himself. 06:15 Then a few lines later, 06:17 he says this, 06:18 and this is the part I want you to really see. 06:21 He writes, 06:22 "And now Childe Harold was sore sick at heart. 06:25 And from his fellow bacchanals would flee." 06:28 In other words, 06:29 he's dying to get away from his party friends. 06:32 "Tis said, 06:33 at times the sullen tear would start, 06:36 but pride congealed the drop within his e'e." 06:39 So he really wants to stop partying. 06:41 He doesn't want to live like this, 06:42 but his pride won't let him stop. 06:44 It continues, 06:45 "Apart he stalked in joyless reverie. 06:48 And from his native land, 06:49 resolved to go and visit scorching climbs beyond the sea. 06:54 With pleasure drugged, 06:55 he almost longed for woe. 06:57 And e'en for change of scene 06:59 would seek the shades below." 07:02 This guy in this poem, 07:04 is so sick of pleasure seeking 07:05 that he almost wishes for a little bit of hardship. 07:08 Just for the sake of a little bit of contrast. 07:10 And he resolves to go on a journey, 07:13 looking for the real meaning of life. 07:16 And wouldn't you know it? 07:17 That's exactly what Byron did himself. 07:19 And then he dies while visiting Greece. 07:23 Now I don't know about you, 07:24 but it kinda rips my heart out 07:26 to see a man who has absolutely everything; 07:28 born to a high station of life, 07:31 served in the British house of Lords, 07:33 never denied himself anything. 07:35 And still, 07:36 he's profoundly unhappy. 07:38 Because he never discovers what it really means, 07:41 to live an authentic human life. 07:44 Now, 07:45 I've got to take a quick break, 07:46 but when we come back, 07:48 I'm going to show you why Byron's case 07:49 is even worse than you might think. 07:52 I'll be right back after this. 07:56 - [Man Voiceover] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 08:00 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid, 08:03 and confusing. 08:05 If you've ever read Daniel a revelation, 08:07 and come away scratching your head, 08:09 you're not alone. 08:10 Our free Focus On Prophecy guides 08:12 are designed to help you unlock 08:14 the mysteries of the Bible, 08:15 and deepen your understanding of God's plan for you 08:18 and our world. 08:19 Study online or request them by mail 08:22 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 08:26 - When Lord Byron was a little kid, 08:28 he had this Presbyterian nurse 08:29 who actually used to read the Bible to him. 08:32 And even though you'd never guess it 08:34 by looking at his lifestyle. 08:35 He actually really loved the Bible. 08:39 The problem was, 08:40 that he just didn't live it. 08:41 And by the time he became a hard living 08:43 self satisfying adult, 08:45 he really struggled to figure out who he was. 08:48 At one point, 08:49 he actually said, 08:50 "I am so changeable, 08:51 being everything by turns 08:53 and nothing long. 08:55 I am such a strange melange 08:57 of good and evil, 08:58 that it would be difficult to describe me." 09:01 Now, that kind of reminds me 09:02 of something that the Apostle Paul wrote, 09:04 except of course, 09:05 we know that Paul lived a life of self-denial. 09:08 He said, 09:09 in the book of Romans, 09:10 "For I delight in the law of God, 09:12 according to the inward man. 09:14 But I see another law in my members, 09:16 warring against the law of my mind, 09:18 and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, 09:21 which is in my members." 09:24 In other words, 09:25 Paul recognized that he had two essential natures 09:27 that were in conflict. 09:29 One nature, longed to be in harmony with God. 09:32 It made him want to be a decent person. 09:35 But the other nature, 09:36 was always pulling him back towards selfishness and sin. 09:39 This is an exceptionally powerful passage, 09:42 because well, 09:43 all of us struggle with that. 09:45 And what we find is that Paul actually bothered 09:47 to fight against his corrupt nature, 09:49 and he tapped into God's ability 09:51 to keep him on the straight and narrow. 09:53 Lord Byron, however, 09:55 well, he just caved in. 09:56 I'm such a blend of good and evil, he said. 09:59 It's really hard to describe exactly what I am. 10:03 Unfortunately, 10:04 some of his friends had no trouble 10:06 describing what he was. 10:07 Like, Lady Caroline Lamb, 10:08 who famously said that he was 10:09 "...mad, bad and dangerous to know." 10:13 Now, I don't know about you, 10:14 but I'm not sure I'd want that phrase on my tombstone. 10:17 I guess there might be some people who think that's awesome, 10:19 but not most of you. 10:21 Now here's where I'm going with all of this. 10:24 I suspect, 10:25 that our own generation is not entirely unlike 10:27 the Western Roman empire right before it fell apart. 10:31 It was populated by people who enjoyed 10:33 the fruits of prosperity for hundreds of years. 10:36 And they were so self-absorbed, 10:38 so dedicated to the pursuit of self 10:41 that they hardly noticed that their empire 10:43 was perched on the brink of collapse. 10:45 The Barbarians were quite literally at the gates of Rome 10:49 was about to fall. 10:51 In his famous book about the Collapse of Roma, 10:53 a textbook that he actually wrote for high school students. 10:56 The historian, Philip Myers, 10:58 describes the debauchery of Roman entertainment. 11:01 And he tells us how it contributed to the collapse 11:04 of Roman morality. 11:05 Here's what he wrote, 11:07 "Almost from the beginning, 11:08 The Roman stage was gross and immoral. 11:11 It was one of the main agencies 11:13 to which must be attributed 11:14 the undermining of the originally sound, 11:17 moral life of Roman society. 11:19 So absorbed, 11:21 did the people become in the indecent representations 11:24 of the stage. 11:25 That they lost all thought 11:26 and care of the affairs of real life. 11:29 And the evil was not confined to the capital. 11:33 In all the great cities of the provinces, 11:34 the theatre held the same place of bad preeminence 11:38 in the social life of the inhabitants. 11:40 The people of Carthage were shouting and applauding 11:43 in the theatre at the very moment, 11:45 when the Vandals were bursting open the city gates." 11:48 "The Roman world," 11:49 he wrote, 11:50 "died laughing." 11:53 Now that really is, 11:54 a pretty good description of the way we're living right now. 11:57 To borrow a phrase from Neil Postman. 11:59 I suspect that our civilization is busy amusing itself 12:03 to death. 12:04 And that makes us just like George Gordon Byron, 12:07 who eventually got to the very end 12:09 of his pursuit of pleasure. 12:11 And he found himself painfully empty. 12:15 Which brings me to the pages of the Old Testament. 12:18 To this statement that you find 12:20 in the heart of the book of Isaiah. 12:21 It's a statement that is describing the inadequate policies 12:25 of their leadership back in that day. 12:27 The leader's inability to turn the nation around 12:30 after it became detached from God. 12:33 And this is how Isaiah describes it over 12:35 in Isaiah 28, 12:36 he says, 12:38 "For the bed is too short to stretch out on, 12:41 and the covering so narrow 12:43 that one cannot wrap himself in it." 12:46 In other words, 12:47 people can pursue their own interests. 12:49 They can live by their own agenda. 12:51 But eventually they're going to discover 12:54 that peace of mind always seems to elude them. 12:58 It's like sleeping in a toddler bed as a full grown adult. 13:01 The bed is too short. 13:03 The blankets too small. 13:05 This is an experience I've personally been through 13:07 more than once. 13:08 I've had to crash on somebody's loveseat 13:10 and I'm six foot tall. 13:11 And the biggest loveseat they make 13:13 is only 71 inches. 13:16 Which means I'm too tall by one inch. 13:20 And of course, 13:21 nobody sleeps with their feet pointed straight up. 13:23 So it's actually too short by several inches. 13:26 And I don't know if you've ever done this, 13:27 but I promise you, 13:28 there is no way for you to get comfortable. 13:33 That's exactly the experience of Lord Byron. 13:36 I guess it's like that famous description 13:38 from the beginning of Augustine's confessions, 13:40 where he writes, 13:42 "...our heart is restless until it rests in You." 13:46 Actually, 13:47 that whole quote is probably worth reading, 13:49 because it turns out that Augustine 13:51 had a lot in common with Lord Byron. 13:55 You see, before his conversion to Christianity, 13:57 he was also a rather accomplished hedonist. 14:00 Completely devoted to the pursuit of personal pleasure. 14:03 He describes it by saying, 14:06 "I ran wild in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures." 14:10 That's a pretty vivid description. 14:13 Eventually, 14:14 Augustine came to the end of pleasure 14:16 and realize that he was nothing more than 14:18 an empty shell of a man. 14:20 And so the whole quote from his confessions, 14:23 reads like this. 14:24 He says, 14:25 "Man, a little piece of your creation, 14:28 desires to praise You. 14:30 A human being bearing his mortality with him. 14:33 Carrying with him, 14:34 the witness of his sin 14:35 and the witness that You resist the proud. 14:38 Nevertheless, to praise You, 14:40 is the desire of man. 14:42 A little piece of your creation. 14:44 You stir man, 14:45 to take pleasure in praising You, 14:47 because you have made us for Yourself 14:49 and our heart is restless until it rests in You." 14:54 So what he's saying, 14:55 Now, I believe he's right, 14:56 is that all of us are restless. 14:59 We know there's supposed to be a purpose for our existence. 15:03 Some reason to be here. 15:05 And some people choose to find that purpose 15:07 through pleasure. 15:08 In other words, 15:09 they take that attitude, 15:10 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.' 15:14 but not once, 15:15 in the history of this world has anybody, 15:17 And I mean anybody, 15:19 come to the end of his or her life 15:21 after using it for nothing but raw pleasure, 15:23 and been satisfied with what they had. 15:26 All of us are restless 15:28 because we've been separated 15:29 from the one thing that gives us purpose. 15:32 And the one thing that gives us purpose, 15:35 is the Creator. 15:37 Over in the book of Romans, 15:38 the Apostle Paul describes the problem using these words; 15:42 He writes that we, 15:44 "...exchanged the truth of God for the lie, 15:47 and worshiped and served the creature 15:49 rather than the Creator, 15:50 who is blessed forever." 15:53 And at the end of the day, 15:55 the pursuit of hedonism is nothing but the worship of self. 15:59 It's the worship of a mere creature. 16:01 And I don't know about you, 16:02 but I don't want me for a God. 16:04 I know that's gonna come up empty, 16:06 because well, 16:07 I know what I'm made out of. 16:10 So don't go away, 16:11 because the good people 16:12 of The Voice of Prophecy 16:13 have something they want to share with you. 16:15 But then I'll be right back, 16:16 with one of the most fascinating passages on this subject 16:19 I've ever read in the Bible. 16:21 I'll be right back after this. 16:24 - [Woman Voiceover] Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 16:25 we're committed to creating top quality programming 16:28 for the whole family. 16:29 Like our audio adventure series, Discovery Mountain. 16:32 Discovery Mountain is a Bible based program 16:35 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 16:37 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 16:40 from this small mountain summer camp, pen down. 16:43 With 24 seasonal episodes every year, 16:45 and fresh content every week. 16:47 There's always a new adventure, 16:49 just on the horizon. 16:54 - At the end of the Babylonian captivity, 16:56 the tribe of Judah returned to the city of Jerusalem 16:58 to rebuild the temple and the city. 17:02 But human nature, 17:03 being what it is. 17:04 Most people back then, 17:05 turned to their own needs first 17:07 and the temple was left, 17:08 more partially unfinished. 17:11 And the people in charge, 17:12 were busy working on their own lavish estates. 17:16 The temple was the seed of God's presence among His people. 17:19 And it was the most important structure in the city 17:22 because it was tangible proof, 17:24 that the Jews were in a covenant contract with their Maker. 17:28 It was a display of God's mercy. 17:30 A place where the promise of Messiah 17:32 and the redemption of fallen humanity, 17:34 was put on full display every single day. 17:38 It was designed to show the world 17:40 the path to true satisfaction, 17:42 true fulfillment, 17:43 which could only be found in a God who promises 17:46 to restore us to what we were before the fall. 17:50 But it didn't take long, 17:52 for these people to fall back into the pursuit of self. 17:54 It's something that we all do. 17:56 And here's how the Bible describes that situation, 17:58 in Haggai 1, 18:00 Now you might want to pay attention to this, 18:02 because this is where 18:03 the ancient Hebrew's Lord Byron 18:06 and you and I all meet up. 18:08 I'll start reading now, 18:09 in verse two, 18:10 where it says, 18:11 "Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, 18:13 saying: This people" 18:14 The Jews who returned to Jerusalem. 18:17 "This people says, 18:18 'The time has not come, 18:19 the time that the LORD's house should be built.'" 18:22 So, they're procrastinating. 18:24 Putting off the hard work to some point in the future. 18:26 Verse three, 18:28 "Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, 18:31 saying, 18:32 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell 18:34 in your paneled houses, 18:36 and this temple to lie in ruins?" 18:38 So in other words, 18:40 they were living in personal luxury, 18:42 while the temple was still basically a pile of rubble. 18:44 Verse five. 18:45 "Now, therefore, 18:46 thus says the LORD of hosts: 18:48 "Consider your ways!" 18:49 And here comes the important part. 18:51 "You have sown much, and bring in little; 18:54 you eat, 18:55 but do not have enough. 18:56 You drink, 18:57 but you are not filled with drink. 18:59 You clothe yourselves, 19:00 but no one has warm. 19:01 And he who earns wages, 19:03 earns wages to put in a bag with holes." 19:07 That's exactly, 19:08 the same situation that Byron discovered. 19:10 You can pursue self all day long. 19:13 You can devote yourself to personal pleasure, 19:16 but you're going to discover that pleasure seeking 19:18 is an itch that can never really be scratched. 19:21 These people thought that if they devoted themselves 19:24 to eating and drinking, 19:25 they would find personal fulfillment. 19:27 If only they had nice clothes and earned a lot of money, 19:30 they could finally be happy. 19:32 But the purse of self-fulfillment is a bag full of holes. 19:35 And you're never going to fill it. 19:39 You see, 19:40 the problem with self fulfillment is that 19:42 the more you prop up your own self-importance, 19:43 the more it takes to feed your ego. 19:45 It's a never ending pursuit 19:48 and it never leads to happiness. 19:51 The book of Ecclesiastes puts it like this, 19:54 "All things are full of labor; 19:56 man cannot express it. 19:57 The eye is not satisfied with seeing, 19:59 nor the ear filled with hearing." 20:02 Nathaniel Brandon, 20:03 who is a disciple of Ayn Rand, 20:06 once wrote that, 20:06 "...pleasure, for man, 20:08 is not a luxury, 20:09 but a profound psychological need." 20:11 And he was building on the idea that Ayn Rand preached, 20:14 'The pursuit of self, 20:16 actually leads to the best ethical system." 20:19 And I guess to some small extent, 20:20 she wasn't exactly wrong 20:23 because in a fallen world, 20:24 populated by self-driven individuals; 20:26 the best structure we've ever been able to come up with, 20:30 is to let people pursue their own interests 20:32 and set up laws that force everybody 20:34 to just stay in their own lane. 20:36 It's a system that really has been, 20:38 for the most part, working. 20:40 I mean, honestly, 20:42 none of us wants to go back to the dark ages, 20:43 when the state church dictated 20:46 how you worship, 20:47 when you worship, 20:48 and what you're going to believe. 20:50 Because at the end of the day, 20:51 there is nothing moral about a forced morality. 20:55 So people need to be free to live by the dictates 20:58 of their own conscience. 21:00 No matter what they happen to believe. 21:01 So yeah, 21:02 in some ways I agree, 21:03 people should be free to pursue their own pleasure, 21:06 however they want. 21:07 As long as they're not hurting somebody else. 21:10 It's really the only thing that works, 21:12 in a broken world. 21:14 But to suggest that pleasure seeking 21:16 is a profound psychological need. 21:19 Well, that's only partly true. 21:20 And this is where I have to disagree. 21:23 Everybody needs to be free to do what they want, 21:25 because after all, 21:26 God has allowed everybody the freedom of choice. 21:29 But what hedonism does, 21:31 is offer a shallow substitute 21:32 for what your heart is really looking for. 21:35 You and I, 21:37 have been disconnected from the Source of life, 21:39 from the One who made us. 21:40 And there is nothing else in the universe 21:42 that is going to fill the deepest need you have. 21:46 Don't go away. 21:47 I'll be right back, 21:48 after this message. 21:51 - [Woman Voiceover] Life can throw a lot at us. 21:53 Sometimes we don't have all the answers. 21:56 But that's where the Bible comes in. 21:59 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 22:02 Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 22:03 We've created the Discover Bible guides, 22:06 to be your guide to the Bible. 22:07 They're designed to be simple, 22:09 easy to use, 22:10 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions. 22:13 And they're absolutely free. 22:15 So jump online now, 22:16 or give us a call 22:17 and start your journey of discovery. 22:21 - There's a really important concept 22:22 found in the book of Acts, 22:23 and maybe I'll finish the show with this today. 22:26 Paul is speaking to a group of people in Asia Minor, 22:29 a group that has tried to address 22:30 their deepest spiritual needs in an inappropriate way. 22:34 They know there's something missing. 22:35 And because Paul appears to have worked a miracle 22:38 in their midst, 22:38 they think, 22:40 well, maybe he's the answer to their problems. 22:41 Here's what Paul tells them, 22:43 "Men, why are you doing these things? 22:46 We preach to you 22:47 that you should turn from these useless things 22:49 to the living God, 22:50 who made the heaven, 22:50 the earth, the sea, 22:52 and all things that are in them. 22:54 Who in bygone generations allowed all nations 22:57 to walk in their own ways." 22:59 Now that statement there, 23:00 that's why I said you can't force morality 23:02 on other people. 23:03 It's because God Himself doesn't do that. 23:05 He'd let you go your own way. 23:07 And here comes the important part, 23:08 Paul says, 23:09 "Nevertheless, 23:10 He did not leave Himself without witness, 23:12 in that, 23:13 He did good, 23:14 gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, 23:16 filling our hearts with food and gladness." 23:20 Up to this point, 23:21 you've been allowed to do whatever you want, 23:22 because God doesn't force. 23:25 When He wants is a real relationship. 23:27 He wants you to want Him, 23:28 the same way you crave having other people 23:30 accept you for who you are. 23:32 And unless you have the actual freedom 23:34 to choose against God, 23:36 you really don't have the freedom to choose for Him. 23:39 So God has made you free to do whatever you want. 23:43 But let me ask you this. 23:45 How happy have you been with the results? 23:47 If you've been living like Byron or Augustine, 23:49 or like a million other hedonists. 23:51 Have you ever been able to scratch that itch 23:53 in a way that really solves it? 23:56 I'm in the sixth decade of life. 23:57 And I can tell you, 23:58 I've tried both ways. 23:59 I've tried to find fulfillment on my own terms 24:01 and I've tried to find it God's way. 24:03 And I can tell you, 24:05 even though I'm a long way away 24:06 from mastering the pursuit of God; 24:08 there's a world of difference. 24:10 Back in college, 24:12 in one of those introductory humanities courses, 24:13 the Professor showed us Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. 24:16 And if you've seen it, 24:18 you'll remember that at the top of his hierarchy, 24:20 it says that your most profound need 24:22 is self actualization. 24:24 And it's not entirely wrong, I guess. 24:26 Because most of us, 24:27 really are incomplete beings. 24:29 We're not living an authentic life. 24:32 But a sad majority of us, 24:33 seem to think that an authentic life 24:35 can be found on the road that Byron traveled. 24:38 After he was finished with drugs and sexual conquest, 24:42 he felt the need to go on a long trip, 24:44 hoping to find some kind of spiritual rebirth. 24:47 And I strongly suspect, 24:49 he never found it; 24:50 because you only find that in one place. 24:54 At the end of the Bible, 24:55 the book of Revelation, 24:56 there's this astonishing scene, 24:58 where God sends one final message to our failing planet. 25:02 And here's what it says: 25:04 It's in Revelation 14, 25:07 "Then I saw another angel 25:08 flying in the midst of heaven, 25:10 having the everlasting gospel to preach 25:13 to those who dwell on the earth; 25:14 to every nation, tribe, tongue and people. 25:17 Saying with a loud voice, 25:19 "Fear God and give glory to Him, 25:21 for the hour of His judgment has come; 25:24 and worship Him who made heaven and earth, 25:27 the sea and springs of waters."" 25:30 Now I know a lot of people, 25:31 automatically focus on the judgment part of that passage. 25:35 And to be honest, 25:36 you probably shouldn't ignore that part of it. 25:39 The pursuit of pleasure is something 25:41 that eventually you will have to answer for. 25:44 But what I want you to notice 25:45 for the purposes of our discussion today, 25:48 it's this; 25:49 This passage, 25:51 it's describing a final warning to the world. 25:53 That our way of doing things, 25:55 isn't fixing our key problems. 25:58 Our way of doing things is not going to lead 26:01 to self-fulfillment. 26:02 And it's actually speeding up the process 26:05 of self-destruction. 26:07 I think, 26:08 that's probably the takeaway from Lord Byron today. 26:11 But then as God always does, 26:13 He presents us with the solution, 26:15 and the solution is this: 26:17 "Worship Him who made." 26:20 In other words, 26:21 come back to your Creator. 26:23 That's where fulfillment is. 26:26 Look, on your own, 26:27 you're not gonna reach a point in your life 26:29 where you say nothing's missing anymore. 26:31 Your life is like a campfire. 26:33 If it's just about self-pursuit and self-pleasure, 26:38 the more wood you put on it, 26:39 the hotter at burns. 26:40 You'll never get to the point 26:41 where the fire's no longer hungry. 26:43 And you're not going to get to the point, 26:45 If you're just feeding self, 26:46 where you say nothing is missing. 26:48 Not until you discover the real purpose for your existence. 26:52 And the real purpose for your existence 26:54 is a dynamic connection to the Creator Himself. 26:57 It's what you were born for. 26:59 So now you've got to ask yourself, 27:01 what would you have to lose by reading this book? 27:04 I know, 27:05 some of your friend's market. 27:06 I know, 27:06 critics rail against it. 27:08 But if you read more books written by critics 27:10 than you've actually spent time reading this book 27:13 for yourself, 27:15 you've been chasing your own dreams 27:17 and your own desires your whole life. 27:19 And so far, 27:19 it's not working. 27:21 And I want to suggest to you that if you were to give this 27:23 an honest chance, 27:24 maybe, just maybe, 27:27 you might find what you've actually been looking for. 27:31 I'm Shawn Boonstra. 27:32 Thanks for joining me today. 27:33 You've been watching another episode of Authentic. 27:36 [soulful instrumental music] |
Revised 2021-10-21