If you have an idea that can have multiple looks and you consider it still to be your invention, you probably want utility protection. If you follow a design pattern on this, for example, a competitor could come up with this, something that looks like this one, and they're not going to be infringing your rights. So as an inventor, think about your idea and give a lot of thought to, does the shape that I picked, is it my personal preference, or does it have to be that way? And if it's your personal preference, and you happen to like your invention shape a certain way, but you want protection regardless of what a competitor does, then you want to start thinking about a utility pattern.


Hey, friends, you're watching behind the scenes divine intimacy radio Special guest today super Ann Bernig We'll tell you about her if you didn't see the first show the first show titled alone to hell together to heaven about can be life in the church and how to grow spiritually and how to Reproposing just the normal Catholic life that's disappearing and rebuilding and healing and this is part of What we do at the Avala Foundation Avala Institute and the possibly be a community so Today that's we're gonna be talking about the second episode you can find both of them out at spiritualdirection Dot-com or our our YouTube page and by the way You're on our YouTube page right now, and if you don't subscribe subscribe, there's no way you're gonna go to heaven Of course Heresy heresy Subscribe press the notification button. I'm terrible at this. I've done it only once Over the last thousand shows we've recorded. This is the first time So just humor me would you and tell everybody about it? We need her We are shadow bands often It's the weirdest thing to see where we have one video with 40,000 views and the other with eight and just What is going on here? So You can help us by subscribing it helps the algorithm make comments be nice. You'll get banned if you don't We're happy to ban you. We're happy to keep you Jordan has the band hammer. Jordan is man. Yeah, if you're not nice, right? So today we're gonna talk about community and healing as a second part of the first series here Before we do I want to tell you about Introduction to spiritual theology Systematic presentation of spiritual theology course is available on November 27th 2023 new professor dr. Miriam Sigmund. Happy to be very excited to have her on the team. I bet you that I've mispronounced her name But her doctorate is on in theology is from the Pontifical Union University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Urbea Angelica in Rome Italy, which means she rocks take the class and Setting the captain's free is a local event in San Pedro November 11 2023 all that you see so the way you find either of these spiritual direction com forward slash events is events and then The courses are avala-institute.org. Okay, right Tina's gonna appreciate that. Why did I said Pedro? Yeah, our friend correct and Pedro Pedro All right, well, let's go ahead and get the show started markets that go this Dan Stephanie Burke Welcome to divine intimacy radio your radio haven of rest your hermitage of the heart your monastery of the mind where we lift our Hearts and minds to heaven to draw upon the immense vast Unfathomable well of Catholic mystical wisdom and tradition to help us to navigate This crazy crazy world we live in today Today we have special guests Kind of a figure it to leave figuratively adopted daughter and vernic friend Head of mission engagement at the avala foundation. She is an evangelist extraordinaire. Yeah, she is she is She is a gift of hers. Yeah, just such a gift. So no fear. No fear. Yeah, that's right And we're talking about community life because we're all in a possibly VA community together and just trying our goal I'm just gonna be up front with everyone My goal is to get you who are listening to understand the value and importance of community And as essential for the rebuilding of Christendom rebuilding of Catholic faith the healing of the church and To the degree that you are engaged in that reality. It will happen in your life and those you influence And to the degree that you're not You might do okay alone, but in the first show the analogy I used The title of the show, you know loaned hell together to heaven Was the family that got to spread out in the mountains in a mountain line got their son name was Jared God rest his soul Never forget it and that you get picked off when you're alone. It doesn't matter how strong you are You've got picked off. Mm-hmm. You got picked off and look at what it did to her Well, and even even some great saints have been knocked off the road Teresa of Abola Said there was about a 10-year period while a cloistered nun That she would have gone to hell because she just was out of kind of the reality that she should have been in So the narrow way is narrow and difficult Jesus said that for a reason not wide and easy And it is a mountain road and the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour So today's show we want to talk we had an on because Anne and Stephanie I have become a very very close and Worked together all the time and we've been through good amazing beautiful highs and very difficult lows But the lows are all been redemptive lows. I would say that right redemptive challenges or whatever But they were the kind of lows that could have destroyed relationships, you know, right? If if any one of us had chosen to be to bail selfish or bail Yeah, or put our own emotional, you know wounds or whatever first Yeah, but we held we held tight through the storm We we had it and I think this is really key as we as we go into this conversation is that we had the Understanding of what was happening. We had an understanding through formation That storms are there for a purpose that trials are an invitation to a greater healing to Purification to greater love and and it's just been extraordinary, you know, yeah so in the last show we talked also about This this this idea that saints wire wire most saints out of communities And if you ask John of the cross why he would he would give you he would say because community life is intended By God to bring about healing through Dealing with wounds sin brokeness What are your thoughts on that? It makes me think of the two greatest commandments love you and love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself And so especially as our our community is really our charism is mental prayer and trying to bring some order into our lives and Have this relationship with God be a priority what flows from that is relationship with other people and we're Hurt relationally, but we also heal relationally And it's just really it's really important that you have these relationships Relationship is I mean that's this is it so you have to have we have to have these relationships with others, but As we keep looking I had said in the first show, you know, God created us to be interdependent not codependent So we look to him and then he fills our needs through others As soon as we start looking to someone else to fill our need whether it's physical or emotional or my identity or You know different words my everything value. Yep It's it's disordered and God and his goodness will help purify that Through community. Yeah. Yeah. No, you said in the last show, too. I think it's really important one of our values is is transparency Openness and then you you said the community is safe That it isn't safe like There's a wrong view of safe, right? A wrong view of safe is there is no opportunity For harm. That's not safety or or safety in confirming you in your Broken in your brokenness like oh, you know, you need to just go with your feelings or you know Confirming in a woke destructive way destructive way. Yeah, that just leads to your demise rather than to your growth in healing and You know, so talk about safety in the context of invulnerability wherein wounds can be opened and Healed it's not it's not it's not padded rooms I don't know. I'm trying to get the analogy. Sure. Yeah I think freedom is another word like we're free and feelings is such a great topic because I Think a lot of us, especially in the same age with all our technology We are just numb. Mm-hmm, and we are not checked into our bodies. So what happens is that? We rep we repress a lot of feelings and we're not wrong for how we feel But it doesn't mean that our feelings are truth Right, so the feelings are really good because they're telling us something and you need to acknowledge how you're feeling But then you need to go it it's not about I feel this way about you Dan So you're wrong and you come fix my problem. It's really Wow I'm feeling really anxious right now or I felt kind of hurt by what, you know, Dan said to me I go take that to the Lord and I go gaze upon him and get curious about why am I feeling this way, right? Instead of running with the feeling reacting to the feeling. It's more of an invitation to What's the Lord doing here? Well, and I think In addition to that, which I think is so very important is in our charism of apostolate VA We also live discernment of spirits. So in that we're also Learning that we can't trust our feelings that are true. There are feelings are good They were created by God, but they can be manipulated So we must discern that and that's part of that going before the Lord and saying I'm feeling this why yeah What is this Lord helped me to understand is this coming from you? Is this coming from the enemy? Is it coming from my wounds? Why and why is this happening? And where where is that invitation to who to healing because those feelings do tell us something The storm tells us something the trial tells us something that the Lord's working in and through our Relationships to bring us to a greater good to help us grow in virtue To gain merit from the suffering whatever it is, right? And so it's really important and the bond of the charism provides context and structure And you're talking about the teaching which is part of that that helps us to get healed in it Yeah, right the key is you have to be in it and stay in it You know, it's one of the things I appreciate like one of like both of you actually both of you have a really strong Orientation to loyalty, you know, and so that so when we've three of us of whether it's in pretty heavy storms and Wounded one another and you know wrestled with one another, but I can just tell you both I mean, I'll tell you she's my wife. She knows this we talk about this a divine intimacy marriage retreats And you know, we talk about where each other's crosses and you know, but here's all that But I can say to you and I think Stephanie you could and we could add Jordan producer man that that on a scale of one to ten And ten being like major change holiness Understanding virtues all the good You have affected me you have affected me he's affected me we've affected each other I mean, I know what your number would be. It's at a ten for me That attend for me. I've been radically changed another one one of my buddies Lonnie Applegate Part of the community community that guy ten, you know, because he confronted me About my behavior on social media. I've been off for three years because of him But man was that process painful because we had conflict over it. Yeah, but I love him love him for Just challenge and hanging in yeah, you know not giving up. I think that's that's really I that what comes to mind as the trust That's built in community because you are praying together. You are suffering together You are you have committed to something together and you've said these things are important to me And I love God more than I love all of you But because I love God more than I love all of you than I love you and and that's for me has been like a Momentous thing is that I my heart safe with Dan Burke because I know he loves God more than me safe with a broken Dan Burke, but that's my point.  And I know you're cognizant of that Yeah, so that helps me to trust where you're broken this right to trust you in that Journey and to trust you in that journey and Jordan and the others in our community that we can look one another in the eye and say I know you're in this I know you're in the fight. I know you're all in I know that you're bleeding from your heart because you want to be holy and That your desires are good and therefore you are good because you're made in the image of the of the father And he's put that design your heart and so we're in this together and we're not gonna let go Like I remember and and I were on a trip and really quick and you know We were having a conversation and I felt like I could say something very direct and she took it and she stayed in the Conversation with me and I thought I don't know that I could have said that to anybody else But I but I I knew that our relationship and our love for one another in Christ was strong enough to Really stay in the conversation be really frank and hold on and that's happened reciprocally and it's happened numerous times Different different way before we go to the break. We're talking about community life and healing and in particular We're all part of a community called apostolee VA a POS DOL I via e.org You can go out there and join the website. You don't have to be a formal member to get benefit from it check it out Go find a local community. It's necessary for survival in today's world. We come back from the break there's something Vernon and Ann related to what we were talking about and I'm looking forward to hearing more from what God's doing in her heart and all of this. So we'll be back. We'll be right back Let's just keep going and your market said go welcome back to divine intimacy radio This is Dan Stephanie Burke along with super and Vernon talking about Community life and healing so I saw something firing up in you most definitely was talking I was just remembering the conversation But it's all true and I think as we grow in our relationship with God and spend more time with him We really become secure and who we are in him you can have these conversations and be able to receive what someone has to say and Ponder it. Yeah, it may or may not be true Right or but you can just receive it and receive them and where they're at and be okay Be secure in that and that you know, I was not always that person So the Lord's done many mighty work in my heart in that place because a lot of times we take these things So personal, right? I actually I think I remember What it was like my second week working here? You had said something to me and it would it just broke my heart right away I couldn't believe it and I immediately wanted to apologize and After, you know praying on it for a while. It's like well, it was just Stephanie's opinion I didn't need to apologize, but in my brokenness. I just kind of took on Yeah, you know what she said and and it was the enemy trying to cause doubt and division division and yeah Yeah, so and in that it's so then that's the micro. Yeah sewing doubt division macro God-moving Healing is happening in that context. Absolutely. So Let's talk a little about the mission in healing the Specifically the mission. I'm gonna be talk at a summary level the mission of Apostle B. A to live the contemplative life Which means that we dedicate ourselves to Mental prayer as you're saying anesthesis which is a which relates to healing which is purposeful Self-gift self-denial For the sake of self-giving. Yeah, and that's what you guys are talking about Prayer gives us that orientation to God That we all are saying that's our tether. So so you do if you do something wrong I do something wrong. We are one another. We're all still committed to that same fulcrum point. Is that the right word? That means we're all heading the same direction. So if we hang together and work it in Marriage there's deep intimacy that comes in a sacramental way Non-marriage relationships. There's deep intimacy that comes in a way of friendship Right in camaraderie or whatever in Christ and in our promises in the community. What do you mean? Well, we've promised together To to this way of life. We've now before the Lord we've been clothed in the We've been clothed in the scapular and and so in that, you know, we're we're committing to the Lord in that There's promises there. So there's a there's a sacramental bond here But there's a promise to the Lord in the community that I think is really important as well And that promise is so powerful Oftentimes I think the past two or three investors chairs. I can't even say the words because I am sobbing and I'm praying it in my heart, but it's so powerful and she's talking about we gather once a year to receive new members and They're invested in the Browns scapular. It's an we have an incredibly beautiful Exquisite masks everyone's being prayed over We have people have been praying for each other for a year and they lay it I mean and we promise to pray and we promised we promised to give our hearts fully to God Yeah, we're renewing those promises every year. Yeah, and in that to that a ceaseless a Lot of people think the ceaseless is like this individual thing It's the you you don't understand like if you're putting rocks in your shoes for you You're probably there's no merit in that That's that's just narcissism, right, but just proper a ceaseless is always I Say no to my lower Orders lower order of good or or bad whatever I say no to what I want and it can be arranged from good to not good So that I can love God and love you and other people in the community according to what he desires Right desires and man. I mean I'm it gives me the chills saying it because you want to tap into grace and like have grace explode in you Contemplate that what happens when you become Jesus because that's Jesus Right, what happened him in the garden father? If this if there's another way Not my will but yours be done explosion of grace You know and and we can emulate that reality of saying You know, I don't want to go pray right now But if I don't pray, I'm not gonna be as holy as I need to be and somebody's depending on me And so I'm going to go pray or you know I made a promise to God and to one another in the community You know because I know that when I go to pray that affects him that affects Jordan that fix you in the community You know, yeah, it's a it's obedience. Yes, and why it's so important to have spiritual directors and guides when you can discern the state type of stuff in community because on her own I always love reading the stories of the saints who are so excited to join their order And then they get there and then their superiors like no, you're not allowed to fast Right for three weeks straight you have to eat and that is their suffering is that they have to eat And so on our own we can really inflate our ego sometimes in terms of this self-denial But in community is really where it's the fruit and that charity is just born in a New like explosion of grace like you said. It's really beautiful. Yeah I think I think one of the things it would strike me about this because you know folks out there might think well You know, I have a family or whatever, but if your family is not purposefully praying to other Committing together to follow the Lord in a purposeful way, you know, you're just kind of Right and and that is You're you're weakened in that you're weakened Community creates those promises it it allows you to to live in community and in this way of life That does lead to holiness. I mean every every part of what we do in a pistol EVA is Purposeful to help us be purified to become saints. We're heading for we're pointed towards heaven There's nobody in this community that I know of Knowing how on fire everybody is it's going.  Yeah, we're going. How did the saints live? Yeah, what did they do to become saints? Right? What is common about their lives? Oh, we're gonna emulate that We're gonna imitate that and we're gonna do it together and we're gonna help each other We're gonna help each other and in that God's purifying us and hopefully making us saints But I'm seeing it happen real time. It's beautiful souls. Yeah, I'm so blown away. Well, you know, here's a testimony Every outside speaker that comes to our events or does formation for us They are gushing the bishop Liam Carrie Wow, what a beautiful So we spoke at our awesome Apple Institute summit. You would never know. Yeah, he's very humble But wow, he's got a prayer life, but he just remarked, you know at how Moved he was by the people and and just, you know, and that's common for our speakers and just blown away Yeah, another speaker said wow, this group is really right. Yeah. Yeah, beautiful stuff Yeah Community life Apostle V is one option any good, you know, all of these are facets of the diamonds of the church spirituality, Carmelites or one facet Franciscans Dominicans everybody's got a tribe. I really believe this every living person Needs to be a part of a Magisterium faithful. That's hard, but faithful community and you're all welcome to join us second for Saturdays It's no cost. We gather from all around the world We do a digital formation and we have local groups So if you you're in Australia and you like what you hear on the live and we can hook you up with a small group And that meets locally too in Australia or or Canada or Europe or Italy or you know, Japan Yes, you know So I guess as we're wrapping this up What What I mean, what we've been talking about our hearts and healing and how it's affected us What do you say to someone who's going I'm not a joiner. Let's do that. I'm not a joiner because that was you What's what's your answer to that?  I kind of felt me too Like an outsider. I felt weird, you know, I didn't feel like I miss felt misunderstood Like, you know, what is this? I'm I can't participate in these shallow conversations I always want to go to the you know to the jugular into what's true and real and beautiful and good and Really talk about what matters. I cannot stay on the surface. So to me that put me on the outside Similar to you except I wasn't converting people because I wasn't converted yet But it was part of my design, right that needed to be purified and drawn into what's true and good and set on fire by the Holy Spirit So, you know, I think that's that's You know, what is it about not being a joiner What's behind that because I know that there's things behind that and I know that you can discern that well I I just I don't I just keep coming back to like it's just the human heart we're all created for God by God for him and Until we're in his arms, there's always going to be a battle for our souls to make us feel like we don't belong and it doesn't matter if you are raised in a devout home like me or a Very traumatic home like Dan Broken home like Stephanie, you know We are all in this same battle every one of our stories different but it ultimately what looks the same is that God loves us so much and he wants us to know his love and to be love need the lights and that and That's when you're in community. We talked about just bumping up against each other, but the lies come out You know, the the wounds come out these things we believe about ourselves that we've been living under this identity of I've always got to do it myself I'm gonna I'm gonna do it. I remember one time Dan I Called you we're gonna have a meeting you're like I can't do it today I'm not gonna do it and I hung up the phone and it said Okay, I'm doing this on my own just like always, you know And it was beautiful because what the Lord did that in that was that I'm not doing it on my own and And you know someone else showed up and then you came everything worked out But the Lord healed that lie in my heart I don't have to always do it on my own and it's beautiful how when you come together It it just happens. Yeah, God wants to heal it. Yeah Well, I hope this has been encouraging y'all to to get out and get to where you're less vulnerable and Get some formation and get what you need to be protected what you need to be strengthened Find a tribe and run with them find the yeah Saints If you want to be a saint find a pack and run like crazy and with that we're grateful you've been with us and divine intimacy radio So until next time may the God of peace make you perfect in holiness May he preserve you whole and entire spirit soul and body irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ


Here we go, Proverbs chapter 23. I'll begin with verse one, I'll read to verse three, give you some insight into those first few verses and move on through and go through the chapter today. Proverbs chapter 23, beginning at verse one, reading to verse three. When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you.  Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. These three Proverbs that really tie into one have various layers of application. Let me give you some of the layers of application. The first thing that we would see here when it says, when you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, put a knife to your throat. The first thing he would be saying to us is don't get too close to a ruler. They have great power. Consider carefully not only what, but whom you are dining with. Because if you carelessly insult them, it can result in serious consequences to you. A second thing that they'd be saying that we could apply that he'd be saying is, there are times when they might, these rulers, these people of position, might have ulterior motives.  You might simply be a pawn in their game. This can be true in a practical way for pastors. When pastors begin to be enticed by political power, when pastors begin to feel that they are important and their influence is usable, it can be a dangerous thing to succumb to. You know, my own Pastor Chuck Smith when he was passering as a younger man and the Lord was moving mightily in his ministry in Costa Mesa, had invitations from the White House to come and to have various conversations with those in political power and all. And Pastor Chuck never really got involved in that because he was wise. He knew that if you become somebody that is known for your political connections, that those who have the power, those in authority may very well use you and your influence for them. It's interesting how during election years, there are times when politicians will come to the church and those who are running for office and that's happened here. It happened all the way back when our church was fairly young. There was a someone running for a political office and somebody approached me after a Sunday morning service and introduced this person to me and all. And I knew what they wanted. They wanted our endorsement. They wanted me to stand up in front of the church and say, this is a great guy. This has happened more than once. You know, in our recent elections, somebody was here wanted, actually I got more than one email asking if this person could, you know, wanted to speak to me and really wanted an endorsement. I'm not one who does that. I just don't feel that that was something I'm supposed to do. Not that this was a bad guy or not that any of them have been bad. I'm not saying that. I'm saying you need to be careful. You need to be careful that you don't get enticed by some things because you may be being used by somebody as a pawn in order for them to be able to move further on and further in using you and your influence for themselves. And then there's a third thing that he could be saying and that would be don't overindulge in the ruler's food. It may ruin your chance for advancement. In other words, control your appetite. He may be setting a trap for you. There are times that they may be using food and this is coming out of an area you probably wouldn't think but it's true in the history of Israel. There have been times when the children of Israel have been tempted to partake in foods that were delicacies for the king but were intended to ensnare. You say really and where would we find something like that? You'd find it in Daniel. In the book of Daniel in chapter one, let me read to you verses five through eight in the book of Daniel. It says, the king instructed Ashfinaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand who had the ability to serve in the king's palace and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank and three years of training for them so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now, from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Misha Al, and Azariah. To them, the chief of the eunuchs gave names. He gave Daniel the name Balthashezar, to Hananiah, Shadrach, to Misha Al, Misha, and to Azariah, Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's delicacies nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now, when you read that, you might not understand what was taking place. What was taking place was the king of Babylon was trying to make Daniel and his companions into Babylonians. They're also referred to as Chaldeans. And the way he was intending to do it was to use the foods and the delicacies of his nation because the Jews had dietary laws and one of the ways that he wanted to influence them and to make them into Babylonians was through the diet, through the delicacies, through the pleasures that he would give to them and afford them at his table. And so Daniel refused because he was a young man who was set apart for the Lord and his three friends also refused. And they rather than taken of the king's delicacies actually ate simply vegetables. And they said, just test us to see whether or not we're healthy and bright-eyed and all of that. And so they allowed them to eat just vegetables. And over a period of time, and ultimately what happened is they tested them, they looked at them, they were in great shape, they were mentally quick and all of that. And so Daniel was able to not take of the king's delicacies and still become a great influence in the kingdom of Babylon. And so there are various practical applications to this and one of them would be to be careful that you're not brought into an improper lifestyle by the things that are offered to you by the world. Verse four and five, do not overwork to be rich because of your own understanding cease. Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.  I believe it does, does it not? It does. Jesus made it clear. Remember in Luke chapter 12 verse 15 how Jesus said, take heed and beware of covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. A person is greater than the things that they wear, they drive or the place that they live in. Your life isn't made up of, it does not consist of material possessions. Jesus made that very clear to us. So he said, take heed of covetousness because a lot of times people do and especially in this hour day believe that possessions make the person. And so Solomon is saying, listen, don't overwork to become rich. Don't have the gaining of finances as your final goal. Don't make it that way because you're gonna be disappointed because you can spend a lifetime accumulating things only to lose them very quickly. We've seen that when the stock market has crashed. We've seen that when people have put so much of their money into a stock and it just goes belly up. And so that's an absolute truth. The apostle Paul warned against the deceitfulness of riches and he called it the deceitfulness of riches because riches make false promises. Riches will basically say I can make you happy when in fact they cannot. So Solomon is saying keep your priorities in proper alignment. Jesus would say seek the kingdom first. Paul would say learn to be content with what you have. And so the practical application arrange your work schedule around what best profits your spiritual priorities. Be careful that you don't, how can I say this? Be careful that you don't put your job ahead of God. Be careful. I'm trying to think about how to say something. It's very practical what I wanna say. Just have to figure out how I'm gonna say it. I have a friend of mine, very successful, very successful. We were speaking recently and he had been active in his church and his business began to grow. And as his business began to grow and he was gaining more success, he was gaining more clients. And as his business and his clientele began to grow, he began to not be in church. He stopped serving. I've known him for a while. He's very dear to me, his wife, very dear. So I had seen this take place. We've had conversations in the past. And my encouragement obviously has been seek the kingdom first, put all your priorities behind the kingdom of God. So we're having a conversation.  And he says, in order for me to be able to be in church like on a midweek at my church, I have to lose some clients. And so he says, and I love them. Over the years, they've become very dear to me. I love them very much. And I believe that they have, I do. And so as we're speaking, actually I was listening. I said, let me give you something. It'll only take a minute. And he says, okay, I said, I said, you know something we have in common? You and I, we both love our wives very much. Cause he tells me about his wife and he loves her two pieces. He loves her very much. So we both love our wives very much. He goes, yeah, we do. I said, you know how I would make the decision that you are wrestling with? And he goes, how? I said, whatever is gonna bless my wife, that's the person that I'm going to please.  The way it works is put your wife first cause your wife needs fellowship. I know your wife, she needs fellowship. And she's being deprived of it because of your growing riches. That's a bottom line thing. He started crying and he kisses me. He says, you know, you're more than just a pastor. You're my friend. He said, no, I just love you, man. And I just want God to bless your life. You have to be very careful. Arrange your schedule around what best profits your spiritual priorities. Arrange your schedule around your fellowship with God. Be careful. Be careful that you don't pursue things to your own hurt. To finally make it, to be able to have a little extra. You know, I discovered a long time ago that my girlfriend, who became my wife, really didn't need a lot of money to make her happy. So she was very fortunate to marry me. She never was difficult to please. You know, the only time I've said this before, some of you haven't heard it, so I'll say it to those who haven't heard it. She only got mad at me one time on a date because I only spent $10. But that's all she had. And if she'd have had more, I'd have spent more. So, you know, so we learned a long time ago that, that our spiritual priorities, please make your spiritual priorities number one. Because out of the relationship you have with the Lord, everything else flows. And so be very careful. Do not overwork to be rich because of your own understanding sees. Will you set your eyes on that, which is not. Riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. Verse six. Do not eat the bread of a miser nor desire his delicacies. For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart's not with you. The more so you have eaten, you will vomit up and waste your pleasant words. Now, this is an interesting portion of scripture. Verse, I'll give you what it means, but I want you to notice something in verse seven. This verse here in verse seven, Proverbs 23, verse seven is one of the most misapplied and misquoted scriptures in the Bible. As he thinks in his heart, so is he. How many of you have ever heard someone just quote that verse? I'm interested. Some of you have, a lot of you haven't. And in a good way that's good because there's so much bad teaching related to it that I don't really have to unteach you. But that concerns me. You must not be reading your Bible. But anyway, this is a verse that is often misquoted. Many have used verse seven to bolster their teaching that you can create your own reality. And as an example, I went to a website today and I just copied and pasted just to give you an example. And this is what I copied and pasted. Verse seven, for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. And this is what I found on the website, just cut and paste. The key word in this verse is the word thinks. The word thinks is telling you that God is targeting your thought process, what you think about on a daily basis. So the proper interpretation, you are what you think. You can become what you think. He went on to say, the Bible is very clearly telling us in the above verse that we can all choose what to think about and dwell on. We cannot blame anyone else, including God himself, if we have chosen with our own free wills to constantly dwell on the negative and darker side of this life. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Now, he says as a man or as he thinks in his heart, it's usually quoted as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Is this what Solomon is saying? Is Solomon saying that we create our own reality? You need to read your Bible in its context. Let's read it again and let me show you what he's saying. He says in verse six, do not eat the bread of a miser nor desire his delicacies for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink, he says to you, but his heart is not with you. The more so you've eaten, you will vomit up and waste your pleasant words. He is not saying that I create with my mind in the way that I think what is real.  He is not really friendly nor is he generous and he's begrudging every bit that you eat.  His heart is not with you. In other words, he has no real kindness towards you and he resents feeding you. That's what it's saying. And instead of him saying, well, you are what you think as he thinks in his heart, so is he. He's speaking about the miser. The context is speaking about this miser, this greedy person. And so he's saying, be careful not to eat with this kind of guy, why?  He's getting upset at you because you're eating his food. He doesn't even want you to do that. And he's basically simply saying to you that that's something you should avoid. He doesn't like you. He's not showing real kindness to you. He resents feeding you. So don't be going over there and eating with somebody who doesn't even watch you there in the first place. In other words, leave your parents alone. And no, you don't create your own reality.  He will despise the wisdom of your words. Fools reject teaching. And sometimes they'll even mock those who are teaching them. And so because of this, don't waste your time explaining things to someone who has no ears to hear. When you're speaking to somebody and sharing with them and they have no interest, don't waste your time any further. And this is not necessarily speaking concerning a mom and a dad having a conversation with a wayward child. This is you having a conversation with somebody about things that matter. And they're just not interested. This is you sharing the gospel with somebody, a friend, maybe a family member in, and you begin to share because the Lord has placed it on your heart to share with them how good God is. And they're just looking at you and they're thinking, and you can tell that they're thinking, this is a waste of time. Well, he's saying, don't be wasting your time giving to them what they don't want. It's like what Jesus said in Matthew chapter seven, verse six, do not give what is holy to the dogs nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. On occasion when I've had conversations with people about the Lord and all, if they're interested, I'll continue speaking to them. If they're not interested, I leave it alone. And that's what you do. And when I was working, by the way, on a job, in a job, I did not take company time to preach the gospel. Somebody who was writing on Facebook recently how that they had taken two hours and were preaching the gospel to somebody, one of the coworkers. I'll be honest with you, if I was the boss and somebody took two hours that I was paying them for to do that, I would not be a happy camper. Because I didn't hire them to be an evangelist. I hired them to do their job. When I was working jobs, regular jobs and all, I would take my breaks. I would take my lunch, time that I had that was mine. And if God gave me an opportunity at that time, I'd share, but I didn't do it while I was working and getting paid when I was on the clock. So be careful about that. Verse 10, do not remove the ancient landmark, nor enter the fields of the fatherless, for the Redeemer is mighty, he will plead their cause against you. So this speaks of taking away possessions or taking away their land. It reminds me of what we've seen in chapter 22 when it says in verse 28 that you're not to move an ancient boundary stone that's been set up by ancestors. And so don't take away their possessions and don't take away their land. It says in verse 11, for the Redeemer is mighty and he will plead their cause against you. God, in other words, has a protective love for the weakest in society. God will take up their cause and God will deal with you. In Deuteronomy 10, 18, it reads that he administers justice for the fatherless and the widow. He loves the stranger giving him food and clothing. Verse 12, apply your heart to instruction, your ears to words of knowledge. This is something real important for us to take a moment to look at. Spiritual maturity and depth of understanding doesn't come in some overtly mystical way. You can't go to bed and have a CD playing of the Bible all night and you just lay there and then wake up memorizing the book of Deuteronomy. It just doesn't work that way. And if you're asking the Lord for wisdom and understanding, he's not going to unscrew the top of your head off and then just dump it in. It doesn't work that way either. What he says how this happens is you apply your heart to instruction, you incline your ear to words of knowledge. In other words, spiritual growth takes time. It takes effort, it takes discipline. And he's saying if you apply your heart, if you apply your heart to instruction, if you listen, listen to those who can give you the best advice. Listen to those who can instruct you in the ways of the Lord. If you have godly parents, listen to them. If you're going to church and receiving Bible studies then receive the word through the teacher and understand that it is God's word. It's implanted within you. James 1 21 says, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you. So may your heart be like that receptive soil. So when the word, the seed of the word is imparted, it might find through faith a reception and produce fruit. Verse 13, do not withhold correction from a child.   This is one of those verses in scripture that people say that God is in favor of us harming our children. Nothing is further from the truth. We need to understand that even as I begin to apply this. He's saying that you need to be careful to discipline your children, to chasing your children, to encourage them through discipline and chastisement. He's saying don't withhold correction from a child. Why? Because if you withhold correction from a child, the child grows up without boundaries. The child grows up without a moral code. He grows up, she grows up without knowing the right from the wrong.  There's a lot of young people in this room. Let me share with you something, some of the older ones will remember. There was a time when you'd go to a restaurant and it was quiet. I know that's hard to believe, but it's true. There was a time when you would go into a restaurant and people whispered across the table because they didn't want to disturb their neighbors. You could go to a movie, when there were movies you wanted to see, you could go to a movie and nobody would be talking. You wouldn't have somebody adding dialogue to the movie thinking that they are funnier than the person on the screen. You didn't have that. People actually sat quietly.  That's weird, isn't it? But that's true. And what it was, it was that the society that we grew up in was polite. It was courteous. It was actually built on biblical principles. You may or may not realize this. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you was a code in our society. That's why you showed courtesy. That's why a man would stand up, a gentleman would stand up when a lady entered the room. That's why men would open doors for others. They were showing courtesy. They were showing respect. That's the things that we used to do that unfortunately many in the younger generation just have not learned or been taught. There's a lack of discipline that many parents, many parents have been guilty of. And so I have seen it where I was actually with a group of people one time. And the kid, he was six years old, really unruly. And he got up and he walked up to some strangers, some strangers table and started taking food off their plate and eating it. Yeah, amazing. And I still remember looking at the people where this kid was just looking at them just eating their food. And they were like, what are you doing? And I've seen that more than once. So he's speaking concerning disciplining your children. He's not saying beat them all up and this and that. He's not saying he's using an illustration of what it means to discipline. In Proverbs 13, 24, he who spares his rod hates his son. He who loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs 29, 15, the rod and rebuke give wisdom. A child left to himself brings shame to his mother. That's true. I was one of those kids who were left to myself. I was the one who my mom was working. My dad was working. I was alone and in our neighborhood at that time that was unusual. So when you're by yourself and you're 10, 11, 12 years old you can get into a lot of mischief. You can do a lot of things nobody's watching. And you can get into bad habits and a bad lifestyle. So this is an encouragement to us as parents, those of us who are parents to discipline our children and to do so promptly.  What are you saying? I just thought of something.  I don't, and I'm not cussing either. That's what it seems like he said that. No, in correcting him and instructing him in righteousness he will be saved from judgment. Hebrews 12, 11 says now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful. Nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Verse 15, my son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice. Indeed, I myself, yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things. Parents rejoice when their children make wise choices. And we rejoice when our children speak with wisdom. Like it says in Proverbs 15, 20, a wise son makes a father glad. Verse 17, do not let your heart and be sinners. Be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day. For surely there is a hereafter and your hope will not be cut off. Sometimes, and notice this in verse 17, when he says, do not let your heart and be sinners. Sometimes it seems that others will get ahead, they get all the breaks and you don't. Have you ever noticed that? Sometimes it feels that way, doesn't it? Or am I the only person who's ever felt that? You do your best to raise your kids in the Lord and bring them to church.  And at a certain point in their life, they seem to be going in a direction that you, well, it breaks your heart. And then you know somebody down the road, parents who basically neglect their child and never go to church and that kid's doing well and never gets in any trouble. He's a high school president. She's a valedictorian. And you did the best you could for your kid and he's top of the class in reform school. And you can look out there and you can say, it's not worth it. It's not worth it. I'm doing the best that I can. And it doesn't seem to be paying off in any way. It seems that others get all the breaks and I don't get any. I don't get any. You know, the guy across the street, I know he's stealing from the company and he just drove up in a nice car. And you go out and try and start your car and it didn't wanna start. And when it finally does, it sends smoke signals to everybody in the neighborhood. It's not in a good car. Well, in Psalm 73 verse three, the Psalmist said it like this. He said, I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. In Psalm 73, 12 and 13, he said, this is what the wicked are like. Always carefree. They increase in wealth. Then he says, surely in vain have I kept my heart pure. In vain have I washed my hands in innocence. It's paying off for them and it doesn't pay off for me. That's easy to do when you're struggling with life and others don't seem to be. We can say, why do things happen to me? And not to them. One of my favorite portions of scriptures found in the gospel of John, when Jesus is speaking to the apostle Peter paraphrasing, he says to the apostle, he says, when you were young, you would dress yourself and go where you want. When you're older, somebody else is gonna dress you and take you where you don't want to go. And John says that Jesus was speaking to the apostle concerning the death that he would die for the glory of God. He was speaking to him of his martyrdom. And the apostle Peter got it.  That's not cheery words to hear. And so when Jesus says that to the apostle, John's over here and the apostle Peter sees him and he says, well, what about him?  Can he die with me? Two for the price of what? What about him? And you know what Jesus says to him? You remember, he says, what has he got to do with you? You follow me. Listen, this is very basic, but it's very helpful. Keep your eye on your own responsibilities and let God take care of somebody else's. I'm telling you, you can waste a whole life wondering why others don't get what they deserve. You can waste your whole life thinking. They don't deserve that. Why don't they get what they deserve? Eventually the Lord is gonna say, guess what, you're not getting what you deserve. You know what you deserve. And it isn't a new car and a better job. You know that. You deserve judgment, but I gave you grace. What has he got to do with you? Why are you so caught up wanting to know why I don't do certain things to him? And it seems like you can't do anything without getting caught. Have you ever thought that maybe I love you so much, I don't want you to go the wrong way and that one doesn't belong to me? You ever thought that? And then I'm working in your life. Didn't you pray one day you wanted to be like me? But how do you think that's gonna happen? How did you think that's gonna happen? You know how it's gonna happen? I'm gonna break you. I'm gonna break you. I'm gonna, you're gonna be hurt. You're gonna be down. Then I'm gonna remake you. And at the end, you're gonna say, I wouldn't give up anything. I wouldn't have it done any other way because the result has been my ability to love and praise the Lord for so many things. And that's basically what we need to understand. We need to understand that Lord has His way in our life and we must trust Him for that. What are we to do? What are we supposed to do? Well, he says in verse 18, surely there is a hereafter your hope will not be cut off. Be zealous, trust the Lord. Rejoice that you're saved. You see in Psalm 73 verses 21 through 26, the psalmist goes on to say, when my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you, yet I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. Afterwards, you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. He in that same Psalm says that I used to envy them until I considered their end. I realized that they're enjoying life right now, but what they have right now is the best it'll ever be. What I have right now is the worst it'll ever be. Because I have something waiting for me that is so great. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Verse 19, hear my son, be wise, guide your heart in the way. Do not mix with wine bibbers or with gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty. Drowsiness will clothe the man with rags. Drunkenness and gluttony. When he speaks of gluttony, that's obviously overeating. It would also be speaking of how they would do it at certain festivals and all. They would eat and eat in excess. So what he's speaking about here is something that reveals a lack of spiritual desire because you're constantly yielding to the flesh. In Romans 13 verse 13, Paul said it like this, let us behave decently as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. And so he's saying, if you have a life of overindulging, they're gonna end up in poverty.   A godly parent has experience. A godly parent should be listened to. At a certain point, as a father or you as a mother, at a certain point, you have to step back and allow the child who's really growing to be an adult to learn to make decisions for themselves. But it's a very wise thing for a child to realize that if they have a godly mom or a godly dad, it just makes sense that they ought to be willing to listen to what they have to say. Because if they listen, if the child will listen to the parent, they can be saved a lot of heartache. I used to tell that to my children, I don't have any small children anymore.  I don't have any small ones. But I used to say that to my children. I'd say, listen, you don't wanna have my testimony. You don't want my testimony. The way I'm trying to raise you is to keep you away from my testimony. I don't want you to know the things that I know. I don't want you to experience the things I've experienced. I want you saved from those things. I don't want you to know those things. And yet sometimes I'd hear them saying one form or another, well, I have to make my own testimony.  You ought to strive for that. If you have a godly mom, a godly dad, listen to their counsel because they have experience and they can help you. In verse 23, by the truth, do not sell it. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice. He who begets a wise child will delight in him.   So again, the father and the mother are the ones who are wise and of the one who is wise will delight in that one. And truth and wisdom, instruction and understanding. Well, these are things that are valuable, not just for the moment, these are things that are valuable for a lifetime. That's why he says in verse 23, buy the truth and do not sell it.  And that is one of the things that he speaks about is buying the truth and not selling it. And wisdom, instruction and understanding. These are things that you should have and that you should keep over a lifetime. In verse 26, my son, give me your heart. Let your eyes observe my ways. For a harlot is a deep pit. A seductress is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim and increases the unfaithful among men. My son, give me your heart. Let your eyes observe my ways. My father never gave me a lecture about being a husband. I don't know how many men in this room had a dad who sat you down and instructed you how to be a good man, how to be a good husband. Maybe you did. If you did, that's unusual. Most of us didn't. My father never said, Dave, I'm gonna take you through husband 101 classes. It's gonna take you 16 weeks. I got these books. We're gonna have some lectures, some tapes. My father, my dad didn't even talk to me, let alone lecture me. That's a fact. My dad was quiet. He never gave me a lecture, never said anything to me related to how I should treat a woman, how I should be a husband. So I understand this verse. Give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways. I loved my father with all of my heart and I observed his ways. He never had to tell me this is how you love a woman. He just loved my mom. I watched my father love my mom. I watched my father spoil my mom. He used to get mad sometimes. She was so spoiled. My mom was so spoiled. And my dad loved spoiling her. He loved it. And I think she doesn't deserve that. She's so mean. But my dad loved it. Anything she wanted, he would break his back to get her. That was a fact. He wasn't an overtly affectionate man, but I knew he loved that woman. He one day said to me, son, before there was a David, there was your mom. And when David leaves, your mom stays. I choose your mom. That's how my dad would teach me. My dad went to work at the same time every Monday through Friday and he'd return right on time every day Monday through Friday. He was faithful to his job, faithful to his family, faithful to his wife. And I observed his ways and I watched. He never lectured me, but he showed me by the way he loved. So son, I hope you have a father that loved your mama. I hope you do. Hope you did. I did. And I learned.  Yeah, but my dad never taught me with a lecture. My dad never, no, he just did it. I watched this man. I watched him and I gave him my heart. I watched him and I watched the way he would show her affection. I watched how she would kind of flirt with him when she thought we weren't looking and how my dad would get all that silly little smile in his face at her. She would baby talk him. He never, he never called her by her name. He never did. If you're speaking to me, it was always your mom. When he was speaking of her, it was always mama. That's how my dad spoke to her. I called Marie mama from the beginning. I didn't even know why. I didn't even know why. We had our first baby and suddenly her name is no longer Marie. It's mama. Hey mama. It was mama. I never knew where that came from. I really never did. I never, until one day it hit me. That's what my dad called my mom. And do you know, as I've shared with you before, the last words that I know my father ever spoke before he went home to be with Jesus, the last word that he spoke was when my mom walked in the room before he died and he looked at her and said mama, his last word, mama. So watch and learn. Watch and learn. I was blessed. I was blessed. Marie, my wife was blessed with a mom and a dad that loved each other and were married well over 50 years.  You fix it. That was my mom. That was my dad. See today, it's broken, I'll throw it away. We do that with marriage. We do that with disappointments. It's broken, we'll throw it away. They came from that depression era where you better fix it because you may not get something else like this. My dad fixed everything. He worked on everything and he worked on his marriage. And so as you look at this, I understand from a deep way my son, give me your heart. Let your eyes observe my ways. Learn from me is what he's saying. And then he gives his advice again when it comes to relationships. He speaks of a harlot in verse 27. A harlot is a deep pit. Then he uses the word seductress. A seductress is a narrow well. Well, many times in the Old Testament, the word harlot, it will speak of an immoral woman, but she's an unmarried woman. So a harlot is a deep pit. In other words, she's like a pit that's easy to fall into but is very difficult to escape from. You fall into it, but you have a hard, if not almost impossible task of trying to get out of it. A seductress can speak of someone who is married, but these are both what are referred to as sexual temptations. And we think of Hebrews 13, verse four, where the writer said, marriage is honorable among all and the bed undefiled. But fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. So he's saying, remain faithful by application. Remain faithful to the one that you marry and realize that sexual temptation is out there. But if you are seduced, if you fall into it, it's extremely destructive. Verse 28 says, she lies and wait as for a victim and increases the unfaithful among men. She seduces and seduces and continues multiplying the unfaithful men in society. Remember that sexual intimacy is intended for marriage and no other place. And then finally, verse 29, who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Then he gives the answer. Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine, do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly. At the last, it bites like a serpent. It stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things. Your heart will utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea or like one who lies at the top of the mass saying, hey, they struck me, I wasn't hurt. They've beaten me, I didn't feel it. When shall I awake that I may seek another drink? Is that descriptive? It really is. There's some in this room who have never been drunk. I understand. Who has woe? Who has sorrow?  And before you know it, you have to hear their sob story? And she left me, man, she left me. That was good to her. Who has contentions? You looking at me? You looking at me? And he's looking in the mirror. He's so drunk. That's right. Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? They're drunk, they're stumbling around.  I've seen that. Wounds without cause. They wake up the next day and they're all bruised and they don't know how that happened. Who has redness of eyes? And the answer, those who linger along at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine, those people who are lingering, that means that they're drinking and over-drinking and getting drunk. And then you get your warning. Don't look on the wine when it's red, when it sparkles in the cup. In other words, it's alluring. It swirls around smoothly. I mean, how many commercials do you see where these people say, oh, it's nothing like having a nice glass of wine at the end of the day? That's the kind of thing he's talking about. He's saying you're getting some kind of comfort from it and it is alluring to you. It's drawing you. He says at last, verse 32, at the last, it bites like a serpent. It stings like a viper. That's true. Your eyes will see strange things. You'll be so drunk that you're cross-eyed. You close your eyes to try and make sure that you're going in the right way. Your heart will utter perverse things.  I remember one time we told somebody that what they were taking was gonna get them really high in this and that. And the fact is, is they weren't taking something that would get them high. We're just telling them that it would. And before you know what they're saying, all kinds of stuff, all kinds of bad things, they weren't drunk. There was no alcohol in what they were taking, but they were using it as an excuse to do that. They were uttering perverse things. Verse 34, very descriptive. You'll be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea. When you're very drunk, you feel like that. You feel like everything's moving beneath you or one who lies on the top of the mast, going back and forth, kind of like that. And then they say, they struck me, I wasn't hurt. There are guys who weigh 100 pounds, but when they're drunk, they suddenly weigh 300. Struck me, I wasn't hurt. Then that kind of attitude. They beat me, but I didn't feel it. Of course you didn't. You were numb. And then, when shall I awake that I may seek another drink? There's hardly anything that is as sad. As somebody who is an alcoholic. Families are destroyed. Marriages are destroyed. Families are destroyed. Lives are destroyed. I was speaking to a friend of mine just today who was sharing with me about somebody he knows that he's tried to help who's an abuse. He abuses drugs and alcohol. And he says, you know, he lives out on the street by choice. He said his mom and his dad are Christians, godly people. But from the time this guy was young, he liked his alcohol. He says, I've helped him. I have brought him to my house. I've had him living with me. I've tried to help him. And the minute he gets out from underneath a roof, whether it's a rehab center, he goes right back to what he was doing. It's the same attitude. When shall I awake that I may seek another drink? There are people who don't believe that you can be set free from alcoholism. That's just not true. That's just not true. I was taking a class at Cal Poly Pomona back in the 70s. And we had a guest lecturer, a guy who was a professor of sociology from UC Berkeley. And he came and spoke in our class. And it was a master's level sociology class. And he was lecturing our class. And he was like giving his testimony. And as I was looking at him, you could tell that this guy had lived a rough life. You could tell. But he's a PhD. But he just had that look like James Olmos. He looked like a guy in Zoot Suit. He had that look. And I remember that very well. And I'm looking at him. And he's got the starched shirt and the whole nine yards. And he's a, but he's a PhD. And as he's speaking to us, he says, I'll never forget it. This is a secular class. He says, believe it or not, and argue with me if you'd like. I've got the statistics and I can prove this. He says, with all of the different programs that are occurring today, that are supposed to help people to overcome alcohol and drugs. With all of these programs that you can take, that are supposed to help people overcome alcohol and drugs, he says, I can tell you this. This is a fact. He said that the only ones that are doing any good are the born again Christians who are saving and helping these people to overcome alcohol and drugs. This is in a secular class at Cal Poly Pomona in the late 70s. And there I am sitting there going, amen, amen. Why? Because I was an alcoholic because I loved my pot and I started experimenting with the LSD and the psilocybin and the various other THC and the various other hallucinogenics because I just telling my wife, my wife doesn't really, I don't talk to her about this stuff. But just the other day I said, we saw something that was a real kind of a psychedelic kind of thing. And I said, that's the stuff that drew me into acid because I liked those visual colors and sounds. And I liked it. And when you drop acid, it just, yeah, that's what happens. That's a fact. I'm not lying. I was, I loved it. See, forgive me. I don't want to overbuild this, you know? I got to go get a beer. No, I don't want to, I don't want to overbuild this. I really don't. It can almost sound like those are the good old days. They were the bad days. That's why I got saved. I want to make that clear. But they were so attractive to me and all of my friends were into it. The alcohol, the drugs and everything that went along with it. And people would say, you can't change. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. You've heard it, that's not true. The new wine of the spirit will set the captive free. Never forget that. Jesus Christ sets you free. There's no doubt about that. And I always say, you were just a lightweight. You were only 15. You stopped doing it when you're 20. You know, I spent 40 years in it. You can't say, no, no, no, no, no. The power of God is capable of setting any sinner free. If they simply say, God, be merciful to me. I am a sinner. I need your help. Forgive me, Lord. I can't do it on my own. I need your help. You see, to be saved, it isn't me just adding my efforts to something God is gonna do for me. It's me giving up completely saying, I can't do it. I was not one who could have a beer. I never had a beer. I had a six pack. I was never a beer. I didn't drink one beer. I didn't drink two beers. I drank six. And then I drank a half gallon of wine. I mean, that's what I did. And I was 17. I wasn't 20, 30, 40. I was 17. I was drinking like that at 16, 17, 18, 19 years old. And I would drink until I was drunk and continued drinking some more. That was me. You couldn't leave your beer near me. You couldn't leave your wine near me. I would drink it before you came back. That's a fact. That's the truth. And then I ruined people's lives. Then I broke my parents' heart. Then I brought shame to my family. Then I broke into a jewelry store and stole rings. Then I, one thing after another, got caught. My father had to mortgage our house to get a lawyer to keep me from going to jail because I was out of control. He sent me to a psychologist to try and help me to straighten out my thinking. It didn't work. Nothing worked until the gospel, until Jesus Christ reached down and said, I can save you. See, with the one last closing thought, there are so many Christians today who are arguing, well, the Bible doesn't say I can't drink. The Bible says that I shouldn't be drunk. Why would I do something that takes me away from the Lord? Why would I wanna exercise perceived freedoms in a way that stumbles a brother and takes God's money and uses it to continue the proliferation of that which destroys family? Why would I do that? And how, and I in good conscience, how could I support that? Be your legalist. No, I'm free in Christ and I want you free too. And I'm used by the Lord to reach people and I want you to be used by God to do the same. Instead of evangelizing alcohol, let's evangelize with the gospel of Jesus Christ because I don't need the old wine because I have the new wine, the wine of the Spirit and my life has been changed and I don't have woe and I don't have sorrow and I don't have complaints and I don't have contention and I don't feel like the waves are moving out underneath me anymore and I don't say you hit me and I don't feel it. I don't have any of that. What I have is the ability to put my head on a pillow at night and wake up the next morning saying, I don't have anything to regret. I lived for Jesus yesterday and I'm gonna live for him today. And that's called Christianity and that's what we need to wake up to once again. Amen. Amen.