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Lessons on Life & Business

Psalms 107:33-38 (3/27/24)

March 27, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Psalm 107:33–38

* When we make our work worship, God responds favorably.   * He opens up the land - it yields to us!      * He blesses our work.     * Remember two curses:      * The curse of Adam - work would be hard, but still fruitful.      * The curse of Cain, however - work would be hard and unfruitful.        * Cain didn’t offer his best to God.        * His work wasn’t worship.    * If you do your own thing your own way, you run the way of Cain.      * You work hard but you don’t feel fulfilled in the work you do.    * EX: Mowing lawns - I knew I wouldn’t be there long, but it was fulfilling.  * Backstory:    * This psalm exhorts God’s people to give thanks for God’s gracious act of redeeming his people from Babylonian exile and gathering them back in the land.    * It talks about the difficulties people went through on their way back to Jerusalem…      * …and about what happened to the land before they left: * vs 33-34 - “He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.”   * God can do whatever He wants with the place we inhabit.    * If we work with a heart to please Him, He will “bless the land.”   * 70 years later… * vs 35-36 - “He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.”   * The land itself was ready for their return.    * Matthew Henry - “The goodness of God has often mended the barrenness of the soil, and turned a wilderness, a land of drought, into water-springs.”    * They got to work, and look how God blessed:  * vs 37-38 - “They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.”   * Imagine trying to dig a well in the middle of the desert - not gonna happen.    * Now think about it in the middle of a field located between two rivers.    * God is saying that if you worship Him and obey His commandments, what was once a dry land will be turned into a fertile place.      * EX: REO space in real estate.  * Sometimes the land doesn’t yield because you haven’t made your work worship.    * But other times the land doesn’t yield because God wants to move you somewhere else.  * Either way, we do Godly work, and God will respond. 

Psalms 108:1-13 (3/27/24)

March 27, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Psalm 108

* The cultural seems to be getting worse by the day.    * Truth is trampled in the streets.    * Those who stand for truth are treated as criminals.    * We’re in the middle of a major spiritual battle.  * So what do we do?    * This Psalm will show us.  * Stephen Covey, in The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, says, “Begin with the end in mind.”    * Applied to this Psalm, we need to read the last verse first:  * vs 13 - “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.”   * This Psalm gives us a glimpse at the heart of a warrior and how David roused himself into fighting God's battles.  * 1) He praised God (vs 1—6).    * He started out by praising God for Who He is.     * This roused in David's heart a strong devotion to the mighty God, a God Who could never be defeated.   * 2) He listened to God (vs 7-9).    * He heard God speak, and remembered God's Word that Israel was His.   * 3) He rose up to conquer (vs 10-13).    * David praised God and called to mind how mighty He is.    * He remembered what God had said in His Word.    * He then rose to tread down his enemies.  

Isaiah 39:6-8 (3/20/24)

March 20, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 39:6–8

- God gives grace to the humble, but He resists the proud (James 4:6).  - Humble people have God as a partner.  - Prideful people get God as an opponent.  - Backstory - Hezekiah was a good king, but he got sick and was going to die.  - So he prayed and asked God for healing.  - God responded and gave him another 15 years.  - Then Hezekiah got comfortable.  - This grew into pride.  - A sense of desperation keeps you humble.  - The King of Babylon sent messengers to him with gifts.  - Hezekiah showed off in front of them - displaying all his wealth.  - Pride is often revealed by your need for approval from others.  - Isaiah rebuked him for his pride.  - vs 5-7 - “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”  - What if someone told you this would happen to your kids?  - How did Hezekiah respond?  - vs 8 - “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”  - When pride enters your heart, discernment disappears.  - The king no longer had good reasoning capacity because his eyes had been shut.  - Pride does this - it blinds you to wisdom.  - Prideful people do not think generationally.  - KEY - either choose humility on your own or be humiliated.  - Every decision of a prideful person moves them closer to humiliation.  - It’s a principle as true as gravity.  - Notice the punishment for his pride. It was two-fold:  - 1) Possessions - All the stuff he showed the dudes from Babylon would end up in wicked hands.  - God is in the business of transferring wealth.  - He either transfers it to the righteous or the other way around.  - Choose to be in the “right relationship” with God, and what you have will be yours forever, not to be possessed by the wicked.  - 2) Posterity - He would lose his kids to the enemy, and his sons would be emasculated. (vs 7)  - Pride ruins families.  - If you are a prideful parent, you will lose your kids. - Is anything worth losing your kids?  - Please don’t be prideful!

Isaiah 48:17-18 (3/20/24)

March 20, 2024 • David Benham • Isaiah 48:17–18

- Did you know there are more verses on money, riches, & wealth than any other topic in the Bible?  - Money represents security.  - True profit is not the surplus of money you have in your bank account.  - True profit is anything that leads to life.  - Mark 8:36 - “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?” - But there is a financial side to profit God wants us to have.  - God hardwired us with a need to work and a desire for reward.  - God wants us to be good at our jobs to provide for our families.  - He just wants us to focus on eternal rewards more than monetary rewards.  - Backstory - Israel was truly blessed by God.  - They were the crown jewel of the Middle Eastern nations.  - Doing things God’s way always pays off.  - But Israel started to think their own strength got them there.  - So God rebuked them through the prophet Isaiah.  - In the midst of that rebuke, God said this:  - vs 17 - “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.”  - The word “teach” in this verse means “to train, to develop skillsets.”  - The word “profit” means “to become valuable.”  - So this verse doesn’t tell us that God will give us profit.  - It tells us that God will train us to develop skillsets that make us valuable.  - In Expert Ownership, we teach 4 steps - Value Creation, Marketing, Sales, Value Delivery.  - Value Delivery - create solutions to problems.  - Marketing - turning People to Prospects.  - Sales - turning Prospects to Purchasers.  - Value Delivery - turning Purchasers to Promoters.  - This is where we connect people to God!  - And what follows value? PROFIT!   - We don’t focus on profit.  - We focus on value.  - When we do that, we will never fall in love with money.  - KEY - Valuable people look for problems over profit. - But the Israelites didn’t do that. - They went after the money - they focused on profit, not value.  - God said:  - vs 18 - “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” - Which one is more important, profit or peace?   - Imagine closing a deal where you make 100k in commission, but you have no peace in your life - your spouse won’t talk to you and your kids hate you for being so busy at work.  - You can’t control your appetite for food or your thirst for alcohol.  - Are you really going to enjoy that 100k? Nope!   - What we need more than anything is PEACE!   - When we focus on adding value to people through our work while honoring God in the way we do it, we will experience “peace like a river!”  - vs 22 - “There is no peace…for the wicked.”  - If we don’t do things God’s way, we cannot experience true inner peace.  - True profit = PEACE! 

Isaiah 32:17 (3/13/24)

March 13, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 32:17

- God’s blessings are found inside God’s boundaries.  - And when we honor Him through obedience, we remain “righteous.”  - Righteous is being in “right relationship” with God.  - Isaiah is going to show us three blessings that are ours when we are righteous.  - He is talking about the coming Millenial reign of Jesus on the earth. - He talks about the blessings that we’ll have when that happens.  - But whatever we will enjoy physically when Christ reigns we can enjoy spiritually now.   - vs 17 - “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.” - Notice three things we have when Christ’s justice and righteousness are on display in our lives:   - 1) PEACE - we will experience total tranquility of spirit.  - We’re not all anxious and fearful of what’s coming in the future.  - We aren’t living chaotically in our minds.  - We’re at full and complete rest.  - EX: Jesus asleep in the boat.  - He rebuked them for not being at peace.  - When we are peaceful in our hearts, we will experience the next two:  - 2) QUIETNESS - you cannot hear God speak until you are quiet. - You quiet your heart and your mind (stop all the chatter).   - We don’t let loud, noisy thoughts fill our minds.  - The noise on the outside does not produce noise on the inside.  - As a result, we can hear God’s still, small voice.  - EX: Jesus driving out the “busy-ness” in the Temple.  - 3) CONFIDENCE - we have 100% trust that God can and will come through for us.  - Nothing will ever harm us.  - We truly believe that God will be our provider and protector.  - EX: Jesus praying in the Garden - “All things are possible for you. Please take this cup from Me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as You will.” (Luke 22:42) - How do we get these three things - peace, quietness, and confidence? - God’s justice and righteousness in our lives.  - Justice is alignment with God’s rules, staying inside the boundaries, and repenting when we fall out of line.  - Righteousness is being in a “right relationship” with God through faith in Jesus and a commitment to following Him. 

Isaiah 34:1 (3/13/24)

March 13, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 34:1

- If we want to hear God we need to draw near to Him.  - He likes whispering, and only those who draw near to Him will hear Him. - EX: Listening to the fan motor.  - EX: Listening to your spouse in a crowded room (you gotta get close).  - The same is true with our relationship with God.  - He's speaking. He's always speaking.  - The key for us to hear is that we must draw near.  - vs 1 - “Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!” - God is telling the people to draw near to Him and listen! - Five Keys to draw near and hear God: - 1) Reverence - Honor Him as king of kings and Lord of Lords. - Hearing from God always starts w/reverence.  - It’s a posture of heart that says, “You are God and I am not.”  - Hebrews 11:7 - “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household…” - When you’re reverent, the applause or boos from the outside means nothing to you.  - 2) Repentance - we must turn from our sin and go in the opposite direction. - All through Scripture, we see God stop talking because of impurity.  - To repent means to “change your mind.”  - Romans 12:2 - transform your mind!  - 3) Rule - let Him have authority in our lives as Lord.  - God calls the shots from here on out.  - Have a heart of surrender (ADS).  - 4) Recognize - who God is and who you are in relation to Him. - This will keep you humble, and humility is key to staying close to God.  - God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).  - 5) Reorder - make it your top priority to listen to Him daily.  - Put everything else after that.  - Discipline yourself to have time with God every day.  - Reorder your life around hearing God. 

Isaiah 26:3 (3/6/24)

March 6, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 26:3

* Do you want peace in your life? * Peace - “freedom from disturbance; tranquility; a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.”    * When it comes to experiencing peace in our life, it is a matter of our minds.    * It’s the internal state of tranquility - 100% total rest no matter what’s going on on the outside.     * Like Jesus sleeping in the boat amid the storm.    * It’s keeping our heart rates regulated amid chaos.  * So how do we get it?     * Well, the answer to that is two-fold.  * vs 3 - “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”  * It’s a matter of Trust and Focus.    * First, peace is a matter of TRUST.      * Your mind will focus on whatever you trust.        * Anxiety - trusting something bad will happen in the future.      * Do I truly trust God?      * If I do, then I have to know He will not let anything happen to me that He hasn’t first approved.      * I need to know that He’s got my back, that He’s my provider and protector.      * Security is our #1 core human need.      * You have to feel safe before you can rest.        * If you can never rest (because you’re not secure from harm) then your body will shut down, literally.         * Your stress hormones stay elevated and the next thing you know you’re having anxiety and panic attacks.      * So peace is a matter of TRUST.     * Second, peace is a matter of FOCUS.       * Once you know you can trust God, you now have to focus on Him.        * “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you…”     * You have to keep your mind in a state of God-consciousness where you know He’s there with you.      * Your emotions will tell you everything is going to fall apart, but your spirit needs to tell your mind to focus on the truth, not the lies you’re tempted to believe.   * Romans 12:2 tells us renewing your mind (focusing on truth over lies) is the secret to transformation.    * It’s the secret to transforming you into a person whose internal peace cannot be rattled by external chaos.  * That’s how you get peace - Trust God and Focus on Him! * Tony Evans - “Believers can claim this promise: You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace (26:3). This peace is not only valid in the kingdom age, but also for all those who tune their minds to God’s spiritual realities.”

Isaiah 30:10 (3/6/24)

March 6, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 30:9–11

* Today we have the rise of the emergent church that speaks a very soft gospel, one that's consumed with God's blessings but not with God’s boundaries.     * Why? Because of the fear of offending.    * If you present truth and it offends then they cannot build this big thing they want to build.  * MLK once said the church is the “conscience” of the state.    * Imagine living without a conscience - without that inner voice telling you the right way to go.    * You’d end up on the wrong path - on the path of death.  * The same thing was happening thousands of years ago.    * Listen to the prophet Isaiah:  * vs 9-11 - “For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!”    * What’s the worst thing a parent can do for a kid who’s begging for something?    * To give him what he’s begging for.    * Why? Because it not only teaches him to beg and makes him selfish but because IT REVERSES AUTHORITY!    * It puts the kid in control of the parent - and that’s not the authority structure God put in place.  * Satan loves reversed authority - it’s the only way he can win.    * If a pastor gives people what they want to hear it places them in control over him.    * And what type of shepherd puts the sheep in charge?    * No shepherd at all!  * TWO KEYS:    * 1) Embrace Truth.      * “Hard words make soft people and soft words make hard people."      * Hard words are tough to hear, but if we want to become all that God wants us to become then we need to welcome them.      * The way you know if your heart is hard is by your longing to only hear soft words.      * If you have an utter disgust for any type of criticism, etc then you can rest assured that your heart is hard and needs to be broken.      * Once it's broken God will mend it and keep it soft if you simply listen to His rebuke!    * 2) Speak Truth.      * Think about a parent who never speaks truth to his kids for fear of offending them.      * Will those kids end up soft-hearted or hard-hearted?      * You see, if you use hard words (truth) it softens hearts.      * But if you use soft words (devoid of truth) it hardens hearts.  * Let the hard words come and learn from them - they will keep you soft!

Isaiah 10:15 (2/28/24)

February 28, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 10:15

* When God wants to do something in the world, He uses people to do it.    * If He does it any other way it’s called a miracle. * God wants to do good things through you.    * We have a part to play, but it’s God’s power on display.      * God does His part and we do ours.      * EX: Manna in the wilderness. * We are tools!   * For us to take credit for doing anything would be like a shovel taking credit for digging a hole - we're just the tools God's chosen to get the job done!  * God uses us as tools, but He also uses others.    * He will use them to get us where He wants us.  * In Isaiah 10, God is using Israel's enemies to punish them for their idolatry.    * Then He reminds them that He's the One Who's doing it - their enemies are simply His tool of choice. * vs 15 - “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!”    * God uses people, but so does Satan.    * We can be a tool for God or a tool for Satan.  * Our job is two-fold:   * 1) Be someone God can use (be humble and willing).      * And when you do good things, remember that you’re just a tool.    * 2) See through people to the spirit that’s animating them.      * If what the person is doing is good you won’t worship them, you’ll worship God!      * If what they’re doing is bad you won’t hate them, you’ll hate the sin in them!        * EX: Jesus complementing Peter, then rebuking him.       * On both occasions, Jesus saw “through” the person to the spirit that animated them.  * Seeing ourselves as a tool for God or Satan keeps us from getting bitter toward people or worshipping people.    * We don’t whig out when people wrong us because we know God could be using that to strengthen us or get us where He wants us to go.    * And we don’t worship people when they do good stuff because we recognize they can do nothing apart from God.  * We are all tools.    * It’s up to us as to whose tool we’ll be! 

Isaiah 52:11-12 (2/28/24)

February 28, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 52:11–12

* Babylon in the Bible is a symbol for the system of Satan.    * Every facet of life and society has a “Babylon.”    * EX: In the workplace, Babylon is the satanic system of “hustle till you die, make as much money as you can, sacrifice your relationships to make it happen, and party hard with your earnings.”       * As believers in the workplace, we are to “come out of that!”       * And when we do, God says, “I will now provide for you and protect you!”    * EX: In marriage, Babylon is the satanic system of “My spouse must meet all my needs, if we don’t get along we can easily divorce, I can look at other people if I want, we’re not supposed to feel in love forever.”       * As believers who are married, we are to “come out of that!”      * And as we do, God will provide for us as a couple and protect us from evil.  * Isaiah 52 is looking forward to the time when Israel will be enslaved by Babylon.    * In the 70th year they will be released by Cyrus.    * Isaiah is prophesying how it will happen and giving instructions on what they are to do.  * vs 11-12 - “Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go out in haste,  * and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”   * God’s provision and protection would be granted AS THEY GO OUT FROM BABYLON!   * In every area of life there are two ways to choose - Gods way or Satans way.    * God’s provision and protection are found only when we choose Gods way.   * If you want to do things God’s way so you have His provision and protection, you need to focus on three things:  * 1) Preparation - you can’t leave one place for another if you don’t first prepare for it.    * You gotta pack up.    * You have to know where you’re headed.    * The Israelites in Babylon had the Scriptures of Isaiah and Jeremiah telling them they’d be released in 70 years from Babylonian captivity, so if they had their spiritual eyes open they would know when to get ready.  * 2) Purity - they were not to touch anything unclean.    * vs 11 - “Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves…”    * This meant they were not to carry the customs of Babylon into their new place of habitation.    * They were meant to “leave the old ways behind.”    * To no longer work the way Babylon taught them to work.    * They had to remain separate from thinking and acting like a Babylonian.  * 3) Pace - they needed to pace themselves, to not rush out of their in haste.    * vs 12 - “…For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight…   * They needed to “walk at God’s pace.”      * This is why our faith is called a Christian “walk,” not a run.      * When we walk we can talk.      * When we run we cannot.    * God wants to talk with us, but we won’t hear Him if we outpace Him.       * Our heart rates get elevated and we cannot hear His whisper.      * So we need to walk slowly, looking and listening for God in all things. 

Isaiah 4:6 (2/21/24)

February 21, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 4:6

* You know Jesus is coming back one day, right??!!    * When He does He will reign as King.    * And the world will fall in line w/His order.    * There will still be sin in that day, but it will be dealt with justly.  * Look at what Isaiah says that day will be like:  * vs 4-6 - When Jesus returns, “The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 5 Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. 6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”    * God’s presence is a “shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”    * When we take refuge in God, it doesn't stop bad stuff from happening.      * They just won't affect us like they would if God wasn't our protection.       * EX: It's like being out in the cold but then someone gives you a warm blanket.       * They didn't stop the weather, they just brought you comfort in the midst of it.  * This is what it will be like when Jesus comes back physically.    * But here’s the key - we can experience this same truth spiritually before it becomes a physical reality upon His return.    * A warm blanket is outside-in comfort.    * But we can be warm from the inside-out!    * Imagine getting your heart-rate elevated in the middle of the cold.    * You’ll be hot and not need a blanket!  * We can have this type of comfort today when we place our faith, hope, and trust in God!    * When we sync our hearts w/Him it warms us up on the inside.  * Jeremiah said, “Your Word is like a fire shut up in my bones and I am weary of holding it in” (Jeremiah 20:9).    * Paul told Timothy, “Fan into flame the gift of God that is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6).  * Stoking the fire of God’s Word in our hearts by spending time alone w/God is the key.    * Reading the Bible w/a heart of surrender is so powerful.    * And it will keep you burning hot in the midst of the storm. 

Isaiah 6:5 (2/21/24)

February 21, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 6:5

* How can you know when you have really met with God, when you are truly in His presence?   * Two Ways:    * 1) When temptations decrease (“flee youthful lusts”).    * 2) When convictions increase.  * We’re going to focus on convictions.    * When you meet w/God you will become conscious of your own specific inadequacies in living up to the standard God has for your life.   * Isaiah had just met with God - he had a vision of the Lord.    * How did he respond?  * vs 5 - “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”    * The minute he was in God's presence he experienced conviction.    * It wasn't just a general feeling of guilt, but a very specific conviction toward an aspect of his life that could quench the working of the Spirit in his life.   * KEY - God is specific with conviction, not generic.    * Generic guilt is from Satan.    * Specific guilt is from God.    * Isaiah’s strength - his calling - was to be a mouthpiece for God.    * But that was also his weakness.   * KEY - Your greatest weakness is often an overextension of your greatest strength.  * How can we come into the presence of the Lord?     * Surrender      * When you meet with God ask the question - "is there anything in my life that would hinder our relationship?”   * Humility     * See yourself through the grid of who God is an who you are in relation to Him.    * Obedience      * Trust and Obey - for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus! 

Song of Solomon 1:6 (2/14/24)

February 14, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Song of Songs 1:1–6

* We are meant for intimacy - with God and others.    * Intimacy is to be fully known and fully accepted.   * When you have people in your life who know you fully and 100% accept you then you can grow and mature as a human being.    * Without that, all growth stops.  * Intimacy is built on vulnerability.    * Letting people into your life is hard, but important.    * Problem - intimacy often reveals insecurity.   * Song of Solomon is a book about intimacy.    * It’s a physical picture of intimacy in marriage.    * It points to the intimacy we can have with God. * Here in chapter one, we see the woman wanting intimacy w/her betrothed.  * vs 1 - “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine.”   * She’s really enjoying the idea of intimacy (we’re made for it).    * Then she shifts from intimacy to insecurity.    * She stops thinking about him and them to thinking about herself.    * Intimacy is a matter of focus.      * If you focus on the other person and how they accept you, you can be intimate.      * If you focus on your “issue,” you cannot be intimate.  * vs 6 - “Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun…”    * She didn’t like her dark skin.    * Somewhere along the way she started comparing herself to other women who didn’t have dark skin and she thought they were prettier than her.     * When you're insecure you think everyone sees what they don’t like about you rather than what they do like.    * As a result, you will want to withhold certain information about yourself.      * But when you do that you cannot be truly intimate, which hinders your growth as a human!    * Until you deal with your insecurity it's going to negatively affect your intimacy.   * Here's an interesting point - the very thing the woman was insecure about was what her man loved!   * vs 9-10 - “I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariot horses. Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.”   * He liked everything about her!   * On this foundation, there are three responses to insecurity within intimacy:   * 1) Be accepting of your spouse.   * A "no matter what" mentality is the only thing that will draw people close together.     * Revelation 3:20 shows us how Christ accepts us just as we are.     * The more you fully accept another the more you’re able to receive their acceptance.  * 2) Receive acceptance from your spouse.    * The more you focus on your spouse the more you can receive their love.    * Do not focus on what you don’t like about yourself.    * However, if there’s an issue you can control, do it! * 3) Be acceptable to your spouse.    * If there are things you're insecure about and you can change them, then change them.       * A nagging or complaining spouse is very unattractive.      * So if you're insecure about your spouse not being attracted to you then try being nice for a change.    * But if you’re insecure about something you can't change, accept it.      * When you do you are accepting God, the One who made you like that.      * And this will lead to intimacy with Him!   * Intimacy is built on acceptance.     * This is true in every relationship, including our relationships with God, spouse, and friends.    * Some insecurities may never go away, but those are the very things God uses to draw you close to your spouse.    * When your spouse loves you unconditionally it’s like a magnet!!  

Isaiah 6:2 (2/14/24)

February 14, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Isaiah 6:2–3

- When things get bad, God is still in charge - He’s on the throne!  - Isaiah 6 is one of the best passages of Scripture to show that no matter how bad things get, God is still doing something! - vs 2a - “In the year that King Uzziah died…” - It was a bad time for Jews, because Uzziah was a great king.  - In that dark time, God gave Isaiah a vision!  - vs 2b - “…I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”  - He saw God on the throne!  - His robe filled the Temple.  - This means His presence was everywhere!   - vs 3a - “Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying...” - They were in a posture of worship to the Holy King.   - vs 3b - “…And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” - Three times they said “holy, holy, holy,” which shows that Jesus is holy to the third power!   - Let’s think about the wings of these creatures.   - Two covered their faces.  - Two covered their feet. - Two of them were used to fly.   - We can apply this to the way we live our lives:  - 1) We cover our face in reverence - this is all about the posture of your life.  - Are you reverent to God? Do you approach Him with holy awe?  - He is worthy of our honor and respect, reverencing even the very mention of His name.  - This is the best posture to have in your life.  - 2) We cover our feet in holiness - the wings covering the feet reminded me of when God told Moses to take off his sandals because the place he was standing was holy ground.   - To approach a holy God, we must be holy.   - To be holy means two things - set apart and devoted.   - We must be set apart from the world - we can’t blend in.   - And we must be fully devoted to God above all others.   - 3) We work with a heart of worship - the last two wings were used to keep the angels flying.   - This signifies the work we do with what God has given us.  - All of us have a work to do.  - When we work with a heart of reverence and holiness in worship to the Almighty God, He smiles at our effort and gives us His presence.   - Let’s apply this to our lives today!