Participants: Mike Lemon (Host)
Series Code: HDL
Program Code: HDL000010
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00:38 Hello and welcome to Help In Daily Living, today we are
00:41 going to be talking about developing a strong Christian 00:44 character, It's very important that we develop a strong 00:47 Christian character because our character is the only 00:49 thing we are going to take with us to heaven. 00:51 We really want to take with us our possessions, 00:55 our status, and maybe our houses, or our money. 00:59 But we can't take that with us. 01:01 Only our character, and what is our character? 01:03 It is our thoughts and our feelings, it's what we really 01:06 are inside, our beliefs. 01:08 Jesus tells us to develop a strong Christian character 01:13 means that we have to take a narrow road. 01:15 That is the road of duty and discipline, it is the road 01:20 not of ease, but the road of resistance. 01:23 There won't be many people following that road. 01:26 It will be a road that less people take. 01:28 Before we look at spiritual things we really have to turn 01:32 to God in prayer and ask Him to guide our thoughts, so I'm 01:36 going to ask Anna to lead us in a word of prayer. 01:38 Let's pray, Dear Father in heaven thank you so much for 01:42 the opportunity You give us to build characters and 01:45 that You have promised to be with us through all of them. 01:47 I would just ask that You would please send Your Holy 01:49 Spirit and angels to be with us and to give us wisdom 01:52 and understanding. In Your name I pray. Amen! - Amen! 01:59 When I think of a Christian in conflict I picture someone 02:02 who turns the other cheek. 02:03 But while I was a Christian I am to be a peaceful 02:06 loving and kind person, and I'm not to be easily 02:08 swayed by others. 02:09 I am to be true to principal and to stand true to Christ. 02:12 However in my own strength I can't find the balance 02:15 between being strong and assertive on the one hand and 02:18 lowly, meek and submissive on the other. 02:20 When Christ is present in my life, all of these character 02:23 traits are blended harmoniously. 02:25 One thing I must always remain true, I must always 02:29 stand for the right and not be swayed by 02:30 flattery bribes or intimidation. 02:33 I sing the mighty power of God, 02:35 just listen to those words. 02:37 God is mighty and powerful, God is not a wimp, 02:40 He is not a pushover, and we His people are called upon 02:43 to reveal His mighty power. 02:45 When I am faced with tough situations, I can stand with 02:49 confidence and with great strength God can give me to 02:52 stay true to Him, no matter what. 02:54 The one who created the mountains, seas, and all that is 02:57 in them is the same God who strengthens you and me. 03:12 I sing the mighty pow'r of God, 03:15 that made the mountains rise, 03:18 That spread the flowing seas abroad, 03:22 and built the lofty skies. 03:26 I sing the wisdom that ordained 03:29 the sun to rule the day; 03:33 The moon shines full at His command, 03:38 and all the stars obey. 03:45 I sing the goodness of the Lord, 03:49 That filled the earth with food 03:53 He formed the creatures with His Word, 03:57 and then pronounced them good. 04:01 Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, 04:06 where'er I turn my eye, 04:10 If I survey the ground I tread, 04:15 or gaze upon the sky. 04:24 There's not a plant or flow'r below, 04:28 that makes Thy glories known, 04:32 And clouds arise, and tempests blow, 04:37 by order from Thy throne; 04:41 Creatures that borrow life from Thee 04:46 are subject to Thy care; 04:51 There's not a place where we can flee, 04:57 But, God, is present there. 05:07 God is there! 05:20 God wants us to sing His mighty power and He is powerful 05:25 in our lives. 05:26 We are weak but He is strong. Have you experienced His 05:30 strength in your life James? 05:31 Yeah, when I was a kid I wanted to serve God but at the 05:35 same time not give up my selfish habits. 05:38 I will never forget this one day I realized I was living 05:43 on the fence. 05:44 We were giving a Bible study to this guy in a mobile home, 05:49 a Bible worker and myself. 05:50 And we were giving this study, it was entitled 05:55 How to Give Your Heart to Christ. 05:59 As we've were studying this we were reading text and 06:03 filling in the answers and so on, but we got to this one 06:07 question that was called What is the cost of true 06:10 discipleship? The text that was in there was Luke 14:33. 06:17 It said, "so likewise, whosoever he be of you who forsaketh not 06:23 "all that ye hath, cannot be My disciple." 06:27 Wow! - and those were some pretty strong words because 06:31 at that point my life I had things in between God and myself 06:35 - talk about self-denial, I mean forsaking all that you have 06:40 to go after Christ. 06:41 And the second text said, Matthew 16:24, "if any man will 06:48 come "after me let him deny himself and take up his cross 06:52 "and follow Me." So I realize that the truth 06:55 I was sharing with this man, was the very truth 06:59 I had to apply to my life. - Wow! 07:00 So I learned that in order to serve God, and fulfill my 07:05 desire to serve God, I had to forsake all that was in 07:10 between God, my relationship with God and start the day 07:14 with Jesus and deny self daily. 07:18 That is a daily struggle and you have to constantly 07:24 surrender to Him. Right? 07:26 Well I know I struggle a lot with making sure when I wake 07:30 up in the morning I surrender myself to God, but I have to 07:34 make sure that throughout my whole day that I maintain 07:37 that and I really like natural remedies. 07:41 And charcoal has a really cool property of absorbing and 07:49 especially the activated charcoal powder. 07:50 There was one evening at school were I sitting at a table 07:55 with several of my friends and we were all discussing 07:59 about the properties of charcoal. 08:01 We were talking about whether toast charcoal was the 08:05 same as activated charcoal powder and which was better for 08:09 you, and we were really getting into the conversation. 08:12 I knew I had to be somewhere, I knew worship was 08:15 going to be starting really soon, so I kept looking 08:18 up at the clock. 08:19 So we kept getting into it and talking more, and more, 08:22 and more and more and worship was starting and we can 08:25 hear the song team announcing the opening hymn. 08:29 We were still talking and we thought the deans will 08:32 excuse us because this is an important conversation and 08:35 we don't need to go anywhere. 08:36 I was thinking about it, I really didn't put God as my 08:41 first priority, charcoal is a good thing to talk about. 08:45 But God has something better for us, and putting God first 08:50 and putting worship as first priority is really what 08:53 I should be doing in building my character towards that instead. 08:56 So you had to be somewhere else? I mean it's not a bad 09:00 conversation, but you needed to be somewhere else and you 09:03 were hanging out with the crowd and no one else was going 09:06 so you weren't going to go either and you were kind of 09:09 sticking there. You know there is several of us here and 09:11 It will be alright and we won't get in trouble. 09:14 Sometime we find there is safety in numbers, right, 09:17 We stay with the crowd, but that is really the broad road. 09:20 It sneaks up on us so quickly and it is 09:23 a constant surrender of self and that 09:25 is how we develop our characters. 09:27 When we do fall, we can turn to Christ and ask for 09:31 His forgiveness and He's so merciful. 09:33 - And we can do better next time - do better next time. 09:34 He always sets a higher standard for us doesn't He? 09:40 I'm sure you have all heard the phrase, character 09:44 building. I have never really liked this phrase. 09:47 When it is used, you generally means something challenging 09:50 is happening in my life. 09:52 I used to think I would be much better off without those 09:55 character building moments. 09:57 Better off if my life just went along smoothly. 10:01 But lately I have come to realize these moments are 10:04 what shape us and help us to grow into the person 10:07 God desires us to be. 10:09 God doesn't leave us to think for ourselves during these 10:12 character building times, He has given us numerous 10:15 promises to help us through, promises we can stand upon 10:19 and that will not fail. 10:20 It is reassuring to me to know that when the hailing 10:24 storms, of doubt and fear assail by the living Word of God 10:28 I shall prevail standing on the promises of God. 10:39 Standing! Standing! Standing! 10:49 Standing on the promises. 10:54 Standing on the promises of Christ my King, 10:59 Through eternal ages let His praises ring, 11:03 Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, 11:07 Standing on the promises of God. 11:14 Standing on the promises that cannot fail, 11:17 When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, 11:22 By the living Word of God I shall prevail, 11:26 Standing on the promises of God. 11:30 Standing, standing, 11:34 Standing on the promises of God my Savior; 11:38 Standing, standing, 11:44 I'm standing on the promises of God. 11:59 Standing on the promises of Christ our Lord, 12:03 Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord, 12:07 Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword, 12:12 Standing on the promises of God. 12:16 Standing, standing, 12:21 Standing on the promises of God my Savior; 12:25 Standing, standing, 12:31 I'm standing on the promises, the promises, 12:38 the promises of God. 12:49 We really can stand on the promises of God. 12:52 One of the promises of God is in Philippians 4:13 12:55 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 12:59 What that is telling me is to not be afraid. 13:03 Sometimes we don't attempt great things because we are 13:07 afraid and sort of stay back, and stay in the simple 13:10 place, or easy place. 13:12 We should overcome the incli- nation to seek an easy task. 13:15 An easy task is something that comes easily to us. 13:18 I know Danielle when you came to school I found you, 13:22 you had a hard task to overcome. Yeah. 13:26 Yeah when I first came to Fountain View I had never read 13:30 music notes before and it was so hard for me because I 13:34 started double bass lessons right away. 13:38 My teacher I just don't think my teacher understood that 13:41 I did not know how to read notes, so he was so 13:43 frustrated with me and I was having a hard time. 13:46 I learned enough that year to get by but then the next year 13:50 the lead bass player left and left me in the principal 13:54 position, I was like realizing I really had to figure out what 14:00 I was doing. I just was really discouraged. I came to 14:04 the point I just prayed. I talked to God and said, 14:08 You are the One Who created music and if I am ever going 14:12 to learn Your going to have to be my teacher. 14:13 So I would just pray every day that God would help me to 14:18 learn how to play and like before concerts I would ask God 14:22 to help me play in tune, that He would guide my fingers and stuff 14:26 Like even though I pray all the time before we record and 14:30 stuff, I still somehow don't always trust God that 14:34 He's really helping me. 14:35 But like this last time we were recording I was praying 14:39 as usual and Mr. Cleveland had gotten into the studio and 14:43 was listening and came back and was like Danielle 14:45 you are right on, you're right on. 14:47 I was like what! I don't know, I don't trust myself but 14:52 God is working and in the Bible He says my strength is 14:56 made perfect in weakness. 14:58 I can trust Him that, that He will help me because 15:02 He wants to and He cares about me. 15:04 How fearful is that, I mean you were in the school and you 15:06 have got a lot of people that are really talented with 15:09 music and you can even read notes, but God made you the 15:14 principal person in charge of bass and He gave you the 15:18 ability and you didn't have to fear. 15:20 Well I have similar situation with music, but I started 15:25 taking piano lessons when I was five years old. 15:28 Unlike Danielle I wanted to practice for about the first 15:33 week and a half and then after that, that was it, I just 15:37 did not really care. - No motivation. 15:40 Yeah I was not motivated, I didn't set goals for myself 15:42 or try to work hard on the music. 15:46 So I would not really practice and it just, I don't know, 15:51 this went on for like six years. 15:52 My parents kept pushing me, keep going they said, because you 15:55 started this, you really need to finish it kind of thing. 15:58 I just was not very enthusiastic about it. 16:01 Finally after all this I just decided one day, I am so 16:06 tired of just not being good at this, I'm just going along 16:10 and not really doing anything with it. 16:12 So I started to push myself, and to set goals and stuff. 16:16 Once I did that I started to realize I had really improved 16:20 quickly and was looking back and thinking all these years 16:24 of lessons I had in this opportunity that I wasted and it 16:27 made me think of a quote in Help In Daily Living that 16:30 said, "many who are qualified for great work achieve 16:33 "little because they attempt little." 16:34 That has just really motivated me to know whenever 16:40 I started the violin to try and practice more with that. 16:44 I know that if I motivated and set goals that God can 16:48 accomplish a lot through me. - Yeah, and that is really 16:51 were the growth comes from, when the spark is united from 16:54 within you, you're motivated to do it. 16:56 You set higher goals and you achieve more. 16:59 That is how character development happens and 17:02 you become stronger. Amen! 17:06 When my sister and I were smaller our families lived out 17:09 in the country, so whenever we drove towards home our dad 17:12 would let us take turns driving. 17:13 Only it wasn't really driving because he would operate the 17:16 gas pedal and the brakes while we took the wheel. 17:19 My sister and I have very different styles of driving 17:21 however, when it was my turn I would carefully take the 17:24 wheel and do my best to steer it along the road. 17:26 My dad would coach me, helping me to stay on the 17:28 right side, but when my sister took the wheel 17:31 it was a different story. 17:32 Being only four or five, she wasn't really sure how to use 17:35 it, so she would twist it back and forth barely missing 17:38 nearby trees and mailboxes and frightening my family. 17:41 My dad would have to take the wheel in his hands 17:43 to avoid hitting other cars. 17:45 Although my sister and I both felt like we were driving the 17:48 car, we actually weren't. 17:50 Our dad decided how fast the car went and took control of 17:53 it from time to time to help keep us on the right track. 17:55 Our heavenly Father guides us in the same way. 17:59 Although we have the power to make choices and decisions 18:02 that affect our lives, God is ultimately in control. 18:05 But He won't impose Himself on us, He gives us the freedom 18:08 to invite Him into our lives and when we do, He will 18:12 gently guide us down the right road. 18:26 (Music introduction) 18:53 Come, thou Fount of every blessing, 19:00 tune my heart to sing Thy grace; 19:06 streams of mercy, never ceasing, 19:12 call for songs of loudest praise 19:21 Teach me every to adore thee, 19:26 May I still Thy goodness prove. 19:31 While the hope of endless glory, 19:37 fills my hope with joy and love, 19:48 Here I raise my Ebenezer, 19:54 Hither by Thy help I've come; 19:59 And I hope, by Thy good pleasure 20:04 Safely to arrive at home. 20:13 Jesus sought me when a stranger, 20:18 Wandering from the fold of God; 20:23 Here to rescue me from danger, 20:28 Interposed His precious blood. 21:04 Oh, to grace how great a debtor 21:09 Daily I'm constrained to be; 21:14 Let Thy goodness like a fetter 21:20 Bind me closer still to Thee: 21:28 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it 21:33 Prone to leave the God I love. 21:41 Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it, 21:47 Seal it for Thy courts above. 22:11 Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it, 22:19 Seal it for Thy courts above. 22:45 The words of that last verse are prone to wonder, oh, 22:49 Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. 22:52 Then it says oh, here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. 22:56 Seal it for Thy courts above. 22:58 We really want God to seal our hearts because our own 23:01 hearts, we are told in Jeremiah, are desperately wicked 23:04 and we can't trust them. 23:05 When we are talking about developing our characters for 23:09 eternity, we want our hearts to be right with God. 23:12 To turn to Him so that He can change our hearts. 23:15 So we can't trust our hearts. 23:16 Yeah I experienced that in my life too. 23:19 About a year and half ago I went to my parents and asked 23:22 them if I could get a job. 23:23 They agreed and said we would look around for a good place 23:26 for you to work. 23:27 After about a couple of months we decided that 23:29 I was going to work at this warehouse that was owned by some 23:32 members of our church and they are really nice people, 23:35 they have good high standards, and so I started 23:37 working four hours a day, Monday through Friday. 23:40 At first everything went smoothly, I've really enjoyed 23:42 what I was doing, and the people I was working with really 23:45 nice, I was just enjoying it. 23:48 As time went by, a couple of weeks, I started noticing 23:51 they were quite who I thought they were at first. 23:53 Things started to change, they started to say in few words 23:56 here and there, that weren't quite what I wanted to hear. 23:59 They started to not work when our boss would leave. 24:02 They would slack off and just do enough to get by or 24:06 sometimes stop working altogether. 24:07 At first when they did this I would just keep working and 24:11 doing what I knew was right. 24:12 As time went on, it started to not seem so bad to me, 24:15 and I started to become like them. 24:17 I would start not working when our boss wasn't there and 24:21 I would start, those words should be in my head, but they 24:24 would never come out, or usually they wouldn't come out. 24:27 But they were in there and probably in my mind when I was 24:30 talking to people, and I also started to eat things that 24:33 I wasn't used to eating that weren't good for my body. 24:37 This went on for a couple months, several months and then 24:40 I don't remember exactly what it was, but something woke 24:43 me up and I was looking back and seeing 24:46 everything I had done. 24:47 I hadn't been having my devotions, well I have been 24:49 having them but they weren't the connection I needed. 24:52 They were just something to check off my list. 24:56 I looked, it started out with small things and there is 24:59 this quote in Help In Daily Living I would like to 25:01 read to you that I found. 25:03 It says, "the same spirit in principles that one 25:04 "brings into their daily labor will be brought 25:06 "into their whole life." 25:07 When I started to not do my best in my work, 25:10 then it affected the rest of my life. 25:12 I just went downhill from there. 25:13 So it is just like a current that you get caught in out at 25:19 sea and it just takes you away and you feel powerless to 25:22 resist it, you kind of follow the crowd. 25:25 Christie can you relate to that? - yes, a while back 25:29 me and a few of my friends including Anna there, 25:33 we had this experience, we all wanted to bake a cake together. 25:37 So in our excitement we forgot to follow some procedures 25:41 that we should have followed, but we were just so excited 25:46 we just forgot about it. 25:47 In the end I was punished, and my punishment was that I wasn't 25:53 able to cook for certain amount of time. 25:56 That was hard on me, if you know me I just love to cook. 26:01 It's like my passion. 26:02 So I started complaining, I went to God and I was 26:05 complaining about how unfair I was being treated 26:08 for such a simple thing. 26:12 I guess I got tired of that and so I started going to my 26:16 friends and was complaining to them as well. 26:19 I was saying how terrible this was, 26:25 and I couldn't understand it. 26:26 Then later that night I realized that I was 26:30 complaining about it, it didn't really help, 26:33 I didn't really feel better. 26:35 It struck me then that I had a choice. 26:40 I can't always control the circumstance that I am put in, 26:44 but I can control my response. 26:46 If I had gone to God and let Him control, 26:51 let Him handle my situation then He could have 26:56 helped me with my response. 26:58 So to become true people of character we will be baffled, 27:04 we will be thwarted by all kinds of obstacles. 27:07 Sometimes those obstacles will turn into great blessings 27:11 for us and teach us lessons that we need to submit to Him 27:14 and trust Him in His leading and giving us strength over 27:18 those defects in our character. 27:20 Megan, can you lead us, or close with the word of prayer 27:23 for us now. - Sure! 27:25 Let's bow our heads. Dear Lord and heavenly Father, 27:27 I pray that in our characters and our daily lives we would 27:30 strive to be more Christ-like and more like You because 27:33 Lord it's the only thing we are going to take to heaven, 27:37 it is our characters. 27:38 I pray that the different things that come into our life 27:42 we will use them as a blessing towards us instead of a curse. 27:47 And help us to perfect our characters more and 27:52 more each day. I thank you Lord. 27:54 In Your name. Amen! - Amen! 28:00 Help in Daily Living is a 13 part series from Fountain 28:04 View productions, designed to share the solid principles 28:08 of practical everyday Christianity. 28:10 It is a simple way to share the good news about the power 28:13 of the gospel with your friends, family, and coworkers. 28:17 Order your copies now by calling 1-877-490-4141. 28:23 Or visit us online at: www.fountainviewproductions.com 28:28 Help In Daily Living is also available at your local 28:33 ABC Christian bookstores. |
Revised 2014-12-17