Participants: Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000034A
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00:28 Hello, I'm Lance.
00:30 And I'm Dwayne. 00:31 And welcome to another episode of TKS, 00:34 A True Knowledge of Self, 00:35 where we get to know ourselves from a biblical perspective. 00:39 We were so privileged to go through the Word of God 00:41 and see how God is giving us principles 00:44 on what constitutes peace, 00:46 but also giving us warnings about false forms of peace. 00:50 And we've been looking at that in our past episode 00:52 because we were again doing the contrast 00:54 between what we see in Christian culture 00:56 as well as what we see in hip-hop culture. 00:58 And one of the cornerstones of hip-hop culture 01:01 that we are currently studying right now 01:03 was none other than peace. 01:05 Establishment of unity 01:07 or rather peace and removing perplexity, 01:11 and of course, when you think of peace, 01:12 you think of ending violence, 01:13 you think of ending all sorts of forms of rape 01:17 and any type of degrading activities 01:21 that can take place in a society, 01:23 which is ultimately good. 01:24 I mean, who doesn't want these things. 01:27 But as we were reviewing, 01:28 as we looked at some of the concepts 01:30 that are coming from hip-hop culture, 01:32 specifically the declaration of peace 01:34 that they have established as a movement. 01:36 Once you start to look at it, you begin to see some things 01:40 and they really don't line up very well 01:43 because they're not definitive and they do not point us 01:47 to an ultimate source of how to get it done. 01:49 I kind of referenced in one episode, 01:50 where I talked about a parent. 01:52 And I am privileged to be the father of four children, 01:54 so I know this firsthand. 01:56 When you have a child, 01:58 it is not enough to tell them what to do, 02:01 but it's imperative that you empower them 02:04 and show them how to do what you want them to do. 02:07 And so it is with any declaration 02:09 that comes from any organization. 02:11 It's not enough to say, we want good behavior, 02:14 you have to define what is good behavior. 02:16 It's not enough that you want to demonstrate love, 02:18 you have define what is love. 02:20 And so it is, it's not enough to say 02:21 we need to have peace, 02:23 you have to define what is peace, 02:25 and how do we bring it 02:26 into our practical day-to-day living. 02:27 It's for this reason that as we were studying 02:29 in our last episode, 02:31 we were looking at some of the declarations of peace 02:33 and we were kind of, 02:34 taking a close look at one of the declarations 02:38 that was mentioned. 02:39 And I want to read it again 02:40 because I want us to consider something. 02:42 And this was a declaration 02:43 that was coming from the declaration of peace 02:46 from the hip-hop culture, which stated, 02:48 "Hip-hop culture respects 02:49 the dignity and sanctity of life 02:52 without discrimination or prejudice 02:54 and we shall consider it our duty 02:57 to protect the development of life, 02:59 over and before our individual free choice to destroy it 03:02 or seek to alter its natural development." 03:06 And when we close this, 03:07 we talked about the question marks 03:09 that were inside of the quote, 03:11 especially when it talked about natural development 03:13 because there's a lot of things 03:15 that we call natural developments, 03:17 that may very well be connected to our nature 03:20 but just because it's according to our nature, 03:22 doesn't mean it's right. 03:23 It doesn't mean that we should not seek to overcome it. 03:26 We used the example when we talked about 03:28 those who are going through 03:29 the experience of homosexuality, 03:31 and I wanna put a little point here. 03:33 When we made the points about homosexuality 03:36 not being endorsed by the Word of God, 03:39 we cannot deny what scripture says. 03:41 And the Bible condemns the practice of homosexuality. 03:45 However, we do not endorse what is often represented 03:49 through Christian organizations, 03:51 which is a rude, brash, ungodly attitude towards 03:56 those who choose to live a homosexual lifestyle. 03:58 We believe, here at TKS, 04:00 that individuals though they may choose a lifestyle 04:03 that is against God's will, 04:05 they are still worthy of being receiving love, respect, 04:10 and being treated like a human being. 04:13 And as a result of that, I wanna make it clear 04:15 that by no means do we endorse some of the behaviors 04:18 that we see some organizations demonstrate, 04:20 when it comes even to the homosexual community. 04:23 But true love for anybody 04:25 mean sometimes you got to tell them the truth, 04:27 but you got to tell it in love as the Book of Ephesians says. 04:31 And so it is, Lance, that you know, 04:32 when we were looking at some of these principles, 04:34 we're going through it, 04:36 we're trying to get an understanding 04:37 and get a grip on what's being purported 04:39 through this organization of hip-hop culture, 04:42 the Temple of Hip Hop and its declaration of peace 04:46 as one of its cornerstones. 04:48 There was something 04:49 that was stated in one of the other principles 04:50 that I wanted to bring by you 04:52 'cause we're just gonna look at a couple of them, 04:53 but more importantly, 04:54 we're gonna talk about biblical peace. 04:56 What really constitutes the peace that God offers? 04:59 How can we obtain it 05:01 and how can it become a living reality in our lives. 05:03 So what I'm gonna do here is 05:04 I looked at this one and I thought to myself, 05:06 this would be something good, 05:07 to maybe have some comments on. 05:09 It was what they call the fourth principle. 05:11 It says, "Hip-hop culture encourages womanhood, 05:15 manhood, sisterhood, brotherhood, and family. 05:20 We are also conscious not to bring any disrespect 05:26 to the dignity and reputation of our ancestors." 05:32 Now again, you know, I'm reading this 05:34 and I'm saying, what ancestors? 05:36 Who you are referring to? What do you mean by this? 05:38 And I think you had some thoughts 05:39 that you wanted to share 05:41 that might be enlightening even to our viewers. 05:42 Yeah, this idea really comes from 05:44 almost ancient form, 05:46 there's form of indigenous religion 05:49 in many cultures, Asia, Africa, 05:50 and many other places called Animism. 05:53 So it's pretty much like ancestor worship. 05:56 So again, I haven't, you know, 05:58 consulted with the author of this document, 05:59 so I don't know exactly what they meant 06:01 but to me, based on the origins and kind of the background 06:05 and hip-hop culture like from, you know, 06:07 where you came from Nuwaubianism, 06:09 I came from Five Percent Nation. 06:13 You know, there was a lot of Afrocentric, 06:15 you know, back to Africa, you know, all of that stuff, 06:17 Kwanzaa and all kinds of other things. 06:19 And part of this also was the idea of ancestor worship. 06:24 The idea that our predecessors, 06:26 you know, die, pass on into the spirit world 06:30 and that they're constantly, 06:32 you know, there to help us, some are there to oppress us. 06:36 And so there is a constant need to please them, 06:40 to offer them things, 06:42 so the religious worship kind of revolves 06:44 around these ancestors 06:46 that are passed into the spirit world. 06:48 So we have, you know, in by itself, the idea that, 06:52 you know, you should honor those 06:54 that have come before you, 06:55 you should, you know, do right by those 06:57 who have paved the way for you, 06:59 all of that is basic honor and respect and dignity. 07:01 There's nothing wrong with that. 07:02 However, it does, you know, start to border on these, 07:08 you know, ancient, you know, pagan spiritualism 07:12 that you still see today. 07:14 I mean, you can go to, 07:15 you know, the jungles in Amazon, 07:17 you can go to certain tribes in Africa, 07:19 in certain places in Asia 07:21 that practice this fundamental animism. 07:24 And so, when it says here that they are not to bring, 07:29 we are also conscious not to bring 07:31 any disrespect to the dignity 07:32 and reputation of our ancestors. 07:35 What happens is... 07:36 And we do the same thing in the western culture. 07:39 Somebody could live the most corrupted life 07:43 of any person on the planet, 07:45 they die and all of a sudden 07:46 they become some holy person and some saint. 07:49 And so we have to honor in reverence and not... 07:51 Well, they lived a life that was contrary to that, 07:54 all of a sudden now 07:55 that they've passed into the spirit world, 07:57 doesn't necessarily make them, you know, 07:59 they didn't practice honor and dignity in their lifetime, 08:02 now all of a sudden because they've passed away, 08:04 I have to practice something that they didn't. 08:06 So there's a little bit of a contradiction in that, 08:11 there's a little bit of irony in that, that, 08:14 you know, these people that have passed away, 08:17 all of a sudden become heroes, 08:19 but they were nobody to hold up as a standard. 08:23 They weren't an individual that we should live our lives 08:25 according to their example. 08:27 So, you know, we have to treat it 08:29 with a grain of salt but the bottom line is 08:32 it kind of speaks to that ancient, 08:35 you know, African animism. 08:38 Yeah, and these are things that I think 08:40 we have to consider from this standpoint. 08:44 What you're saying can be innocent in and of itself. 08:48 However, the problem is, is that it is so open ended 08:53 that it can be interpreted in various ways 08:55 and therefore it can create more confusion 08:59 rather than peace. 09:00 You remember the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:33, 09:02 I referenced it earlier in another episode. 09:05 "God is not the author of confusion, 09:07 but of peace as in all the churches." 09:09 It's interesting when the Lord brought 09:12 the children of Israel out of Egypt, 09:14 and He was preparing them now to enter into Canaanland. 09:18 You read the accounts in the Bible 09:20 and it's very interesting how God lays things out. 09:23 When you look at how He brought them out 09:24 in Exodus 15, in Exodus 16, 09:27 God begins to change the diet. 09:29 Exodus 17, God is teaching a principle of cooperation, 09:32 every time they held Moses' arms up, 09:34 they were winning 09:35 and when they allowed his arms to go down, 09:37 then they will start to lose. 09:39 Exodus 18, Moses' father, Jethro, 09:42 father-in-law of Jethro introduces organization. 09:44 Yep. 09:46 Exodus 19, God is reminding them of the covenant. 09:48 In Exodus 20, you get the Ten Commandments. 09:51 But then in Exodus 21-24, 09:53 I thought it was very interesting. 09:55 God wanted to make sure 09:58 that the principles in the Ten Commandments 10:01 were so well understood, that literally, 10:05 Exodus 21-24 is dedicated to something called judgments. 10:10 And those judgments were literally 10:12 taking the Ten Commandments 10:14 and making it absolutely practical 10:17 in day-to-day living. 10:18 What you see is, God putting forth a tremendous effort 10:21 to remove private interpretation. 10:25 Right. This is the mindset of God. 10:26 He wants to remove it. Why? 10:28 Because God knows something that many unfortunately, 10:30 even in hip-hop culture don't understand, 10:32 our hearts are deceitful, our hearts are deceitful, 10:35 our hearts are deceitful. 10:36 We have a carnal nature. 10:38 We cannot determine right from wrong on our own. 10:41 This is why the Bible is so incredibly explicit, 10:44 when God wants what He wants and He makes it clear, 10:47 "This is why I want it, here's the benefits to you, 10:49 here's the benefits to me, here's the benefits to those 10:52 that you will demonstrate these principles to." 10:54 I mean, He lays it out 10:56 so individuals can understand it. 10:59 Now the reason why this is important 11:00 is because the children of Israel 11:03 were recognized at a time 11:05 in earth's history as God's chosen people. 11:09 And one of the reasons for this is found 11:11 in the Book of Romans 3, and this is what it says. 11:13 It says, "What advantage then," Romans 3:1, 11:17 "What advantage then hath the Jew? 11:21 Or what profit is there of circumcision? 11:24 Much every way, chiefly, because that unto them 11:28 were committed the oracles of God." 11:31 One of the things that made Israel stand out 11:33 as a people in the midst of all the other nations 11:36 was not simply the covenant 11:37 that God made with their fathers, 11:39 but God gave unto them His oracles. 11:40 He spoke these words, especially His commandments 11:43 and He gave that to them 11:45 that they were supposed to take it 11:46 and represent it to the world. 11:48 Now even though Israel had the very oracles of God, 11:53 they had agency of God's spirit, 11:55 they had a tabernacle, a sanctuary, 11:57 and when they transported, the fire would attend them 12:00 which was representing the presence of God by night, 12:02 and then the cloud that kept them cool by day. 12:05 God was constantly making it known, "I'm with you." 12:09 Even with this people, however, 12:12 shortly after their probation close 12:14 as a nation to represent God, 12:16 the Apostle Paul still had a burden for his people 12:18 to see and understand God and His righteousness. 12:21 Now in Romans 10, this is how Paul spells it out. 12:24 And I thought it was interesting 12:26 because I'm making a point here. 12:27 In Romans 10:1, it says "Brethren, my heart's desire 12:32 and prayer to God for Israel is, 12:35 that they might be saved." 12:37 Now that obviously indicates 12:39 that Israel was in a lost condition. 12:41 And then Paul says, "For I bear them record 12:44 that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 12:48 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, 12:51 and going about to establish their own righteousness, 12:55 have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." 12:59 Israel received the very oracles of God. 13:03 Israel as a nation had privileges 13:06 that no other nation has had. 13:08 Yet, Israel did not faithfully understand God's oracles. 13:13 And as a result of that, 13:14 they went about trying to establish 13:16 their own righteousness rather than God's. 13:20 How much the more it is today 13:21 when you look at sinful frail humanity? 13:24 Many of which who have not been exposed to the oracles of God, 13:27 who have not been exposed 13:29 to God's principles of righteousness 13:30 from generation to generation, 13:32 yet they're supposedly gonna learn these virtues of God 13:35 like love and peace and everything 13:37 and it's so open ended 13:39 that we can interpret it ourselves. 13:42 Are we not in danger 13:43 of making the same mistakes that Israel did? 13:45 That even thought Israel was privileged, 13:47 they lost sight of God 13:49 and then try to establish their own righteousness. 13:51 Could it be that, if principles 13:53 that are supposedly a declaration of peace 13:56 but at the end of the day, 13:57 they're so open ended, 13:59 it's absolutely open to private interpretation, 14:02 individuals can then set up their own righteousness 14:05 and try to claim it as God's righteousness 14:08 and fall down the path of error 14:09 and possibly perdition just like Israel of old. 14:12 And essentially it was culture superseding the creator. 14:16 That's right. 14:17 And we have a similar situation here 14:19 and a desperate holding on to culture 14:22 and a continual rejection of the author of culture. 14:26 That is correct. 14:27 So let's talk more about peace because I mean, 14:29 we have to really see it defining 14:30 what does the Bible say about peace, 14:32 you know, how do we get it, where does it come from, 14:34 what is it essentially? 14:35 That's right, now again, 14:37 a quote that I gave earlier in another episode 14:39 was Galatians 5. 14:40 In Galatians 5:22 and 23, 14:43 the Bible talks about the fruit of the spirit. 14:45 It says, "But the fruit of the Spirit 14:47 is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, 14:51 goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, 14:52 against such there is no law." 14:54 In 1 Corinthians 14:33 again, 14:56 "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." 15:01 So peace comes from God. 15:03 Peace is something that only God can give. 15:06 And this is important because in hip-hop culture 15:08 and in many cultures at large quite honestly, 15:10 not just hip-hop, individuals are pursuing peace 15:14 because there's a lot of perplexity in the world. 15:15 The Bible prophesied that these things were gonna happen, 15:18 that the world, the people and the nations 15:20 were gonna become perplexed 15:22 and they were gonna go through various points of confusion. 15:25 Well, these are the opposites of peace. 15:27 And here it is that we need it, we know we want it 15:30 but sometimes we can't get it 15:32 because we don't know where to get it from. 15:34 So the first point that we need to establish 15:36 is that peace comes from God. 15:38 And this kind of peace that comes from God 15:40 should be deeply coveted after 15:42 because the Bible tells us how long it last. 15:45 It says in the Book of Philippians 4, 15:48 it tells us something that is beautiful 15:50 as it relates to the peace that God offers. 15:52 In Philippians 4, 15:55 we're just gonna consider Philippians 4:7. 15:58 And the Bible says, "And the peace of God, 16:02 which passeth all understanding, 16:05 shall keep your hearts and minds 16:07 through Christ Jesus." 16:09 So this is the kind of peace that sticks, 16:11 this is not the one that is here for a minute 16:13 when I'm smoking weed and then next thing, you know, 16:15 when the effect of the weed is gone, 16:17 I'm back down in the slum. 16:18 This is not the kind of peace that when an individual goes 16:21 and enters into sexual relationships 16:23 and they have this moment of a thrill, 16:25 but then when it's all over, 16:26 they're back down to that dumps again. 16:28 This is bigger, better, deeper than the kind of thing 16:31 where people listen to a certain form of music 16:33 and while the music's playing they have a state of peace, 16:35 but when the music is turned off, 16:37 they're back in that slum. 16:38 This is a peace that passes all human understanding, 16:42 it has a stick-to-itiveness that nothing else has like it. 16:45 This is what God is offering to humanity. 16:47 And my question is, 16:48 why in the world would somebody not want this? 16:50 Yeah, and essentially, God is the one that provides it 16:54 and then there is an expectation. 16:56 That's right. 16:57 So if it is something that God offers 16:59 and He's giving us instruction to live a certain way, 17:03 then the expectation is that we receive it, 17:05 we accept it and it will yield something, 17:07 it will produce something. 17:09 So, you know, the question remains is what... 17:13 How can we reciprocate? 17:15 I know that we cannot... 17:19 When we talk about reciprocation, 17:21 it's not something 17:22 that we are doing to earn God's favor 17:24 or something that we can do to impress God. 17:27 It's really simply us pleasing God based on us 17:30 accepting what He is offering. 17:31 That's right. So He's living through us. 17:33 So, you know, I wanna make that kind of clear, 17:35 so as it relates to peace 17:37 how is it that this exchange works? 17:40 What is now the human response to what God is offering? 17:43 Well, God offers peace but it comes through someone, 17:47 and if we don't accept the medium 17:49 that God has offered His peace through then we can't get it. 17:52 It's just that simple. 17:53 What is that medium? 17:54 The Bible spells it out in John 16:33. 17:58 Jesus says, "These things I have spoken unto you, 18:02 that in me ye might have peace. 18:05 In the world ye shall have tribulation, 18:08 but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 18:11 So Jesus makes it clear, "In me you'll have peace." 18:14 And this is why the Christian position 18:16 is the biblical position, 18:17 which is to call individuals to Jesus. 18:20 To let them know, come unto Jesus 18:22 because He is the author 18:24 but He's also the finisher of our faith. 18:25 It is through Christ that we can have a peace 18:28 that passes all understanding. 18:30 And when we receive it, 18:31 Christ can first and foremost remove 18:33 one of the greatest burdens 18:34 that hinders our peace which is guilt. 18:37 Almost every human being, I would dare to say 18:39 every human being goes through a state 18:41 or phase of life when they get a chance 18:43 to look at themselves in the mirror, 18:44 they can look at mistakes that they have made, 18:46 they can look at areas in their past 18:48 where they had just perhaps in their minds 18:50 at least ruined their lives, 18:51 and sometimes there are other instruments like other people 18:55 that can be influential to us and put us down 18:57 and make us just feel horrible over our past decisions 19:01 and that will put you in a state of depression. 19:04 Christ says, "I'm here to offer you peace 19:06 because while you were yet a sinner, 19:08 I was willing to die the death you should die 19:10 that you can have the life I should have. 19:12 And I'm willing to accept you if you will accept Me." 19:16 And that offer gives peace to the human heart. 19:19 When an individual can say, 19:20 "You mean to tell me that you're willing to take me. 19:22 And you're willing to let my life 19:24 start all over again in you and you can erase my past 19:27 and wash it clean with Your blood", 19:29 as 1 John 1:7 says. 19:30 "And you can give me a brand new start?" 19:33 Christ says, "Yes." 19:34 When an individual accepts that, Romans 5:1, 19:39 "Therefore being justified by faith, 19:42 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 19:47 I mean, it's so simple, man. Yeah. 19:49 And this is what the Lord offers 19:51 and this is why we have to tell our friends 19:53 in hip-hop culture, 19:54 "Listen, you can't have peace 19:56 just because you want to pursue it. 19:57 You certainly can't have peace if it's not clearly defined. 20:00 You need to understand peace is something 20:02 that comes from God 20:03 and it comes through an acceptance of His son 20:05 that He sent that would die the death you should die 20:08 that you can have the life He should have. 20:10 And live a life that is designed to please Him, 20:14 and when you do that 20:16 it has a wonderful reciprocal experience, 20:18 which is it brings peace to the human heart." 20:22 That's a blessing, so it's not necessarily a declaration, 20:25 you know, on a piece of paper, it's not a document. 20:27 Oh, no. No, no, no. 20:28 And so once that is realized, 20:30 again I'll come back to this idea 20:33 what is the response? 20:35 We accept it, we get it, 20:37 what is now that human response moving forward 20:39 because that is one critique, you know, that we used to use 20:43 when we were outside of Christianity 20:45 that is still used today. 20:47 Once I leave the church building, 20:49 you know, once I'm through with that experience 20:52 that makes me feel good and makes me feel the peace 20:54 and feel the joy. 20:56 Once I'm out of that time of meditation 20:59 where I'm studying and praying and, you know, 21:01 I kind of isolate spending time with God, 21:03 and I go out into the world 21:05 and I'm experiencing all of this stuff. 21:07 Yeah. 21:09 And I'm feeling all of these things 21:10 and I'm getting frustrated, and I'm getting stress, 21:12 I'm getting... 21:13 How does the peace now work in the human heart? 21:16 What is the next step, the next level? 21:18 I understand. 21:20 You see, again, in Isaiah 59:2, it says, 21:24 "But your iniquities have separated 21:26 between you and your God." 21:28 Your sins have caused God to hide His face from us 21:30 that He will not hear us. 21:31 So sin separates us from God. 21:33 And any individual who is separated from God 21:36 will definitely have a perplex life. 21:38 They're gonna have a life filled with confusion, trail, 21:40 tribulation, sadness, sorrow and all sorts of things, 21:43 temporal peace, temporal happiness 21:46 but it won't certainly last long. 21:47 So then the goal is to be reunited with God 21:50 because He is the author of peace 21:52 and He offers it through His son. 21:53 Well, once an individual is willing to see, 21:57 it was my sins that broke up the relationships, 22:01 it was my sins that broke the peaceful union 22:03 that I had with God, then what I need is 22:05 I need to have a power source that can enable me 22:07 to have victory over sin, 22:08 so that I can be reunited with God. 22:10 This comes through Jesus Christ. 22:12 This is why Jesus said, "Be of good cheer, 22:13 I've overcome the world, 22:15 you can overcome the world through my power." 22:17 Well, when an individual comes in contact with Christ, 22:20 then what they're gonna do now 22:21 is seek to live the life Christ lived. 22:24 Jesus was temped in all points but He didn't sin. 22:27 Sin is the breaking of God's commandments. 22:30 So the goal of God is to offer Jesus 22:33 to allow His blood 22:35 to be a propitiation for our past sins 22:37 but then also to give us power to live a life above sin, 22:41 which is to keep His commandments. 22:42 If this takes place, 22:44 Proverbs 3 comes beautifully in the experience. 22:49 "My son, forget not my law, 22:51 but let thine heart keep my commandments: 22:55 for length of days, and long life, and peace, 22:59 shall they add to thee." 23:02 Now this is in direct contrast to the ideologies of Satan. 23:06 Satan try to introduce to humanity, 23:09 the more that you break and violate God's law, 23:12 the greater peace you have. 23:13 Well, people can actually see today I believe, 23:16 that that is truly a lie. 23:18 God is actually saying, "When you keep My commandments, 23:21 it actually brings about peace in the life." 23:23 There is nothing like a life 23:25 that is in harmony with God's law. 23:27 Well, it's not only that you and I get the benefit of, 23:32 you know, obeying God's commandments 23:33 and enjoying all this peace but it also pleases Him. 23:36 In fact, there's a even greater benefit 23:39 or not greater but there's another benefit 23:41 that happens in the midst of pleasing God 23:44 as a result of keeping His commandments 23:46 that brings peace to our own lives. 23:47 It spelled out real nice in Proverbs 16:7. 23:51 Here's what the Bible says, 23:53 "When a man's ways please the Lord, 23:56 he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with Him." 24:01 So now peace is becoming contagious. 24:03 You know what I'm saying, it's like now here it is 24:05 that an individual can look and say, 24:06 "Wow, the more that my life is in harmony 24:09 with God and His law, 24:10 it actually can bring a peace to my own heart." 24:13 Then I also please God 24:16 and now that I am a "law abiding citizen," 24:20 if you will, I even can bring at peace 24:23 my enemies with me because now you're manifesting, 24:26 remember we talked about the law of God 24:27 as a revelation of God's character. 24:29 God loved His enemies 24:31 and even His enemies was one to His heart 24:33 of which you and I make a part of that number. 24:36 So it is that when individuals truly understand 24:38 and live a life in harmony with God's commandments, 24:41 it helps bring about a peace not just between them and God 24:44 but even by God's grace between them and their enemies. 24:47 Ain't that same, Dwayne, 24:49 if we look at Isaiah 26:3, it says, 24:53 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 24:56 whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." 25:00 So again, the continual focus on God 25:03 and focus on God is really loving God, right? 25:06 So that reminds me of 1 John 5, we want to turn to it. 25:10 Oh, yeah. That's a good text. 25:12 Yeah, 1 John 5 and we're just gonna read first three verses. 25:16 Sure. 1 John 5? 25:18 Yes, 1 John 5. 25:21 You want me to read it? Yeah, go ahead. 25:23 "Whosoever believeth 25:24 that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, 25:28 and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also 25:33 that is begotten of Him. 25:34 By this we know that we love the children of God, 25:37 when we love God, and keep his commandments. 25:40 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, 25:44 and his commandments are not grievous." 25:47 So we're not talking about, you know, just a sterile, 25:53 you know, robotic, you know, obedience. 25:56 We're talking about an intimate love 25:58 that exists between the creator and His creation. 26:01 And as we love God with all of our heart 26:04 and all of our mind, 26:05 all of our strength as the Bible says, 26:07 then we will do the things that please Him. 26:10 We do the things that please Him, 26:12 then He offers us peace in return. 26:14 It's a continual peace, 26:16 it's kind of like a marriage relationship. 26:19 If, you know, you have a wife, I'm married, 26:22 again I have four children as well. 26:24 And if I'm doing things... 26:27 For example, if I go out and cheat on my wife, 26:31 I can't expect peace to exist in my home, 26:34 if I'm actively cheating on my wife. 26:36 I can't come home and say, you know, 26:37 "Honey, I cheated on you today, 26:39 I hope everything is okay, you know, 26:41 I'm real hungry, so is dinner ready?" 26:43 It's not gonna happen. Right. 26:44 There's not gonna be peace in my home. 26:46 So we want peace, the question is, 26:49 are we willing to obey, 26:51 are we willing to accept what God is offering, 26:52 the power to obey and overcome? 26:55 And if we do that, John 14:27 says, 26:59 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." 27:04 Now watch this, "Not as the world giveth, 27:08 give I unto you. 27:09 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 27:14 My friends, I hope and pray that this is the peace 27:18 that you will definitely make a covenant 27:20 with God to receive even today, 27:22 that you will allow this peace to be the means 27:25 that governs your life 27:27 and that you and I can experience what God wants. 27:29 And I believe that as you do that, 27:31 you're gonna see great and marvelous things 27:34 take place in your life. 27:35 And you're gonna see a lot of that stress 27:36 and a lot of the perplexities go away, 27:38 and you'll see this is a peace that only Christ can give 27:41 and the world certainly cannot give this. 27:45 We want to really thank God for you joining with us 27:47 and I trust that you have been tremendously blessed 27:49 as I know I have been blessed. 27:51 And we just want you to tune into our next episodes 27:53 coming up, where you can receive 27:54 more of these blessings. 27:56 And until then, remember those wonderful words 27:58 which tells us, 28:01 "It is the Lord that giveth wisdom 28:03 and out of His mouth 28:05 comes knowledge and understanding." 28:08 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-06-29