Hello, may name is Lance Wilbur.
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And I'm Dwayne Lemon.
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And we'll like to welcome
you to another edition of TKS,
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a True Knowledge of Self,
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where we get to know ourselves
from a biblical perspective.
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For those of you who
have been following along,
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again, we, in our last episode
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we dealt with Daniel
Chapter 2 and we saw...
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Highlighted
Daniel and we saw that
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trough his
preparation for the Christ,
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through his
humility and his willingness
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to acknowledge the fact
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that he does not
have all the answers,
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that he needs to seek
wisdom and strength and power
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from the God of heaven.
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We saw that that
spirit of humility
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is something that is
foreign to the urban culture,
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is foreign to
the street culture,
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is foreign to
the hip hop culture.
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We are encouraged to
react and to stamp out
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and to not allow our pride
or manhood to be questioned.
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But Daniel in this
crisis did not shrink in fear
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nor did he swell up in pride,
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but he, with the spirit
of meekness and humility,
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sought a petition
and sought deliverance
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and wisdom and skill
from the very throne of God.
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And Dwayne, as we
consider these things,
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some people think
that in order to be a man
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you have to stand up
for yourself, you have to...
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And we're not saying
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that you don't have
to stand up for yourself,
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we're not saying
that you don't have to,
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at times, take a stand,
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but some people take a stand
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for the sake of their own pride,
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their ego is injured
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and they have to
defend themselves.
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We see it all the
time in the street,
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we saw it growing up.
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I was an
individual who did that,
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I'm sure you did it at times.
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If our manhood was questioned,
we responded with aggression.
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That's right.
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In order to let everybody know,
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that we're not
a, we're not a punk.
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That's right. We
can handle our...
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So how is that
different when we talk about...
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Because knowledge of
self out there in the street
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is teaching us that,
but then in the Bible,
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a true
knowledge of self shows us
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that the opposite is true.
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So how does the Bible
deal with these things?
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What it is, you know,
this true picture of humility
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and real manhood from
a biblical perspective?
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Now, you know, it's
a real good question
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because when I
look back at my life
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and I go back to my childhood
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and growing up
again, urban youth,
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again hip-hop culture,
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there were a lot of
things that were put in my mind
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and I found it
to be interesting.
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I'll give you an
example, when I was in school,
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I grew up in a
public school system,
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I never went to any
type of religious school--
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Private organization.
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Private schools, none of that,
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total public
school organizations
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all the way through.
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So I'm exposed to
some of the dirtiest,
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the grimiest things that
you could possibly imagine
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that a person could
either see or experience
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in a school environment.
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But one of the things
that was interesting is
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we know that in public
school systems generally,
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you have the
teachings of evolution.
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And evolution, of
course, tells us that
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you and I are not the results
of an intelligent creator,
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but we are the result of
just a bang that took place
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we don't really have a
purpose, we just kind of--
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Right, matter
plus time plus chance.
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Exactly.
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And because of that teaching,
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it produces a
character in the individual
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which is called
survival of the fittest.
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And what I found
out about that is that
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that it is possible that
someone can be religious,
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but still follow the
principles of evolution.
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Yes.
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Because evolution puts
in the mind of an individual
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that since I don't really
have a purpose or whatever,
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I got to create my own purpose,
and in creating my own purpose,
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I will remove,
stomp on, or compete with,
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or beat anybody that I have to
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so that I may
survive and reach this goal,
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even though it may
mean the demise of others.
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Right. Survival of the fittest.
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Yeah, you just said, be a wolf.
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You know,
there's wolves out there,
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you can be a wolf
or something else.
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That's right.
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So you know, when I
look at this concept
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of the survival of the fittest.
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I realize, wow!
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I was participating with
that in a very interesting way,
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which is this, battles.
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You know, in hip hop culture,
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we know that
whether you're rapping
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or whether you're dancing,
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there's always
that element of battles.
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And the battle, the
purpose of the battle
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is for me to beat
you or you to beat me.
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And that's the goal,
there is no, you know,
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you're good and I'm good
and let's both strive together.
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There's none of that.
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It is about, I'm
here to dominate you,
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I'm here to tear you apart,
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I'm here to
absolutely embarrass you.
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That's right.
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And this was, again,
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building up that self
exaltation in a person.
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So when I look at the Bible
and how the Bible is teaching
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the principle of humility,
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the principle of
self-abnegation, the...
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You know,
individuals recognizing
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that I don't have the skill sets
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and abilities in me in
and of myself, number one.
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Number two, if I do
have a skill or an ability,
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it was not given to me
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for the purpose
of dominating others.
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And to try to beat
and battle and make myself
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equal to or
better than yourself.
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And does it mean that
we can't have confidence
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or we can't, you know, we can't
have security and confidence,
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is that what you're saying?
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Security and confidence
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is definitely
necessary in the man of God.
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But their security
and their confidence is in
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what God can do in them
and through them for His glory
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and not for what I can do
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so that I can
benefit simply myself,
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you know, void of
giving God any glory.
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Now the Bible brings this
out in an interesting way,
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in the book of
Galatians chapter 5.
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And I want to talk about it
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because in
Galatians the fifth chapter,
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I'm going to read
from verses 19-21,
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it brings out a picture
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because Paul was
trying to bring to light
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to the individuals in
the Church of Galatians,
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the principles of
the kingdom of darkness
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versus the principles
of the kingdom of light.
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Okay. Fruit.
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What kind of lifestyles we live?
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And he says something
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as it relates to
the works of the flesh
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in Galatians five
starting at verse 19.
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And I'm going to
read this to you it says,
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"Now the works of
the flesh are manifest.
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Which are these:
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adultery,
fornication, uncleanness,
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lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance,
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emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies, envyings,
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murders, drunkenness, revelings,
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and such like of the
which I tell you before,
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as I have also
told you in time past,
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that they which do such things
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shall not inherit
the kingdom of God."
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Now these are plain
straight statements.
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Right. And there's two words.
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Both of them
were found in verse 20
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that I thought to be
very, very interesting.
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It was emulations and strife.
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Okay.
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When the word
emulations is used,
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the word
emulation is to emulate,
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is to try to be equal to
or better than somebody else.
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So whenever I
look at another person
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and then I say, "I want
to be equal to that person
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or better than them.
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I want to conquer them."
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The Bible calls that emulations
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and that's also
the works of the flesh.
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It also uses the word strife.
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The word strife
is also a word...
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A synonym to the
word strife is rival,
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which is where we get rivalry.
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And this is, of
course, where we get this thing
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about competition
in all these things.
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And these are things
that God has not endorsed
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for his people
to get involved in
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because he knows what it does.
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Think about it, the disciples
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were already individuals
who were very competitive.
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Here goes Jesus trying to
literally teach the twelve
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the mission that he
came on this earth to bring
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to give them the
Gospel, they can understand it,
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receive its benefits and
then give it to the world,
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but they had an
element of a problem.
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And that problem was rivalry.
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They were always
competing one against the other
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to the point that
they were so pathetic,
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they got their mother involved.
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You remember
that? Yeah, I remember.
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Yeah, I mean, you know,
literally, James and John...
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"Mom, go ask Jesus if
we could be by his side
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when he
establishes the kingdom."
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I mean, that's pathetic, man,
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you're gonna get
your mother involved?
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And here it is the,
you know, and they...
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But this is what
they wanted to do
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because they had
this competitive mindset.
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They were rivals,
even though they were
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professing
themselves to be a team.
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Right.
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And this is something
that is very, very real
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in hip-hop
culture, it is part of it.
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And, you know, hip-hop is
not hip-hop without battles.
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That's right.
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You know, when we're
trying to get the supremacy
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and to be over somebody else
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where we become the better
and they become the loser.
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Right, and it's funny because
sometimes they try to paint it,
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you know, they
try to rewrite history
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and say, "Oh,
well, it was all about,
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you know, the
battle, but there was no...
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It was just having fun,
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and, you know, we
shook hands afterwards."
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You know, that's
how we did it then
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and now it was always--
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Now my brother--
Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
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That's an explosive lie.
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That's not even a lie,
that's an explosive lie.
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Yeah. And the reason why?
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Is because I can
tell you right now,
00:09:03.24\00:09:05.14
there was rarely a house party,
00:09:05.17\00:09:07.58
there was really a club
setting that I could go to
00:09:07.61\00:09:10.45
where brothers would come
together and they would battle,
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whether they were
scratching on the, on the--
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Turntables. Turntables.
00:09:14.22\00:09:15.75
Or if they were rhyming
or if they were dancing,
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where many of cases, it
would always end in fights,
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a lot of times, it ended
up with people getting killed.
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Yeah, gunshots, right?
Yeah, gunshots, all the time.
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So it is a
total lie to say that,
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"Oh, yeah, we
were just having fun."
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If that's fun, then I
don't want any part of it.
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And anybody with
sense shouldn't either.
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Yeah. And so
sometimes it might have happen.
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Yeah. But most times it didn't.
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Most times, if you
literally put it on a scale,
00:09:35.94\00:09:38.01
you're going to
see, there's a major
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teeter-tottering to show
that the majority of the time
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this stuff happens,
it ends in violence,
00:09:41.34\00:09:43.61
it ends in brothers
trying to hurt each other
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or to malign each other.
00:09:46.72\00:09:48.12
Or hate each
other. Or hate each other.
00:09:48.15\00:09:50.09
And then, of
course, when record deals
00:09:50.12\00:09:51.45
and things of that
nature come into the picture,
00:09:51.49\00:09:53.15
now it's really
going to get wicked.
00:09:53.19\00:09:54.52
Yeah.
00:09:54.56\00:09:55.89
So the bottom line
is that in this culture,
00:09:55.92\00:09:58.19
we see that there's a
consistent self exaltation,
00:09:58.23\00:10:01.80
but when we look at
Daniel and his principles,
00:10:01.83\00:10:04.67
we see that there was a humility
00:10:04.70\00:10:06.63
and something amazing
happened in Daniel's humility.
00:10:06.67\00:10:10.41
Daniel was not emulating,
Daniel was not being a rival,
00:10:10.44\00:10:14.28
Daniel was
simply being faithful.
00:10:14.31\00:10:17.58
And as a result of
him being faithful,
00:10:17.61\00:10:19.25
God did something.
00:10:19.28\00:10:20.62
And this is a principle
that is true in both aspects
00:10:20.65\00:10:23.65
of Daniel's
experience and Nebuchadnezzar's,
00:10:23.69\00:10:25.69
it is found in James Chapter 4.
00:10:25.72\00:10:27.39
In James the fourth chapter,
00:10:27.42\00:10:28.89
look at how the
Bible brings this out,
00:10:28.92\00:10:30.26
this is powerful.
00:10:30.29\00:10:31.63
And this is
something we need to understand
00:10:31.66\00:10:33.43
as we're running this race.
00:10:33.46\00:10:34.80
We know that
there's a heaven to gain
00:10:34.83\00:10:36.16
and there's
definitely a hell to shun.
00:10:36.20\00:10:37.63
And God wants us
to gain eternal life.
00:10:37.67\00:10:40.24
That eternal life
comes through the gift
00:10:40.27\00:10:41.87
that God gave to mankind,
which is found in Jesus Christ.
00:10:41.90\00:10:44.41
Yes. We accept this by faith.
00:10:44.44\00:10:46.44
And what happens is,
00:10:46.47\00:10:47.81
to a lot of
people that sounds corny
00:10:47.84\00:10:49.84
and it sounds like, no,
00:10:49.88\00:10:51.21
I got to do something or,
you know, there's some, some,
00:10:51.25\00:10:54.58
you know, conquering
that needs to take place.
00:10:54.62\00:10:55.95
Yeah.
00:10:55.98\00:10:57.32
And though there is a victory
over sin that must take place,
00:10:57.35\00:10:59.49
but that comes through
the righteousness of Christ.
00:10:59.52\00:11:00.86
Right.
00:11:00.89\00:11:02.22
That's not because of
anything inside of me.
00:11:02.26\00:11:03.93
So notice what the
Bible says in James Chapter 4,
00:11:03.96\00:11:06.33
it's in verse 10.
00:11:06.36\00:11:08.20
Beautiful principle, it says,
00:11:08.23\00:11:10.10
"Humble yourselves in
the sight of the Lord,
00:11:10.13\00:11:14.40
and He shall lift you up."
00:11:14.44\00:11:17.41
Now there's a lesson in this
00:11:17.44\00:11:20.44
and this is a
practical lesson for you and I,
00:11:20.48\00:11:22.84
this is a practical
lesson for you our viewers.
00:11:22.88\00:11:26.28
The Bible says,
"Humble yourself."
00:11:26.31\00:11:29.62
Yes.
00:11:29.65\00:11:30.99
That is different
from the Bible saying,
00:11:31.02\00:11:33.52
God will humble you.
00:11:33.56\00:11:36.02
There's a difference
between humbling oneself
00:11:36.06\00:11:38.99
and God having to humble you.
00:11:39.03\00:11:41.10
Yeah.
00:11:41.13\00:11:42.46
And we find that
individuals, one way or another,
00:11:42.50\00:11:44.87
are going to
experience humility,
00:11:44.90\00:11:46.84
but we can either experience it,
00:11:46.87\00:11:48.54
where I humble myself before God
00:11:48.57\00:11:50.64
or God is going
to have to humble me.
00:11:50.67\00:11:53.11
Now Daniel was wise.
00:11:53.14\00:11:55.38
He humbled himself before God.
00:11:55.41\00:11:57.05
He did not once
try to function under
00:11:57.08\00:11:59.55
the principles
of knowledge of self
00:11:59.58\00:12:01.18
and just try to say, "I got it.
00:12:01.22\00:12:02.98
I can handle this. I can do it."
00:12:03.02\00:12:04.42
He knew his weaknesses.
00:12:04.45\00:12:06.22
And he
understood his weaknesses.
00:12:06.25\00:12:07.92
And there's a benefit in
understanding weaknesses.
00:12:07.96\00:12:09.96
I want to bring this out
in 2 Corinthians chapter 12.
00:12:09.99\00:12:12.63
In 2 Corinthians
Chapter 12, the Bible brings out
00:12:12.66\00:12:14.76
something in relation to
recognizing our weaknesses
00:12:14.80\00:12:18.00
and the blessings
that comes from it.
00:12:18.03\00:12:20.00
In 2 Corinthians
the 12th chapter,
00:12:20.04\00:12:21.74
look at how God
brings this thing out
00:12:21.77\00:12:23.27
because this is wonderful.
00:12:23.30\00:12:24.84
2 Corinthians and
we're in chapter 12.
00:12:24.87\00:12:27.98
I'm going to go ahead and
start right at about verse six.
00:12:28.01\00:12:29.44
Yeah.
00:12:29.48\00:12:30.81
And this is how
Paul is unfolding this,
00:12:30.85\00:12:32.91
I can even to start at verse...
00:12:32.95\00:12:34.28
Yeah, verse six is good.
00:12:34.32\00:12:35.65
It says, " For though
I would desire to glory,
00:12:35.68\00:12:38.79
I shall not be a fool.
00:12:38.82\00:12:41.16
For I will say the
truth, but now I forbear,
00:12:41.19\00:12:43.99
lest any man should
think of me above that
00:12:44.03\00:12:47.16
which he seeth me to be,
or that he heareth of me.
00:12:47.20\00:12:50.80
And lest I should be
exalted above measure
00:12:50.83\00:12:54.67
through the
abundance of the revelations,
00:12:54.70\00:12:56.34
there was given to
me a thorn in the flesh,
00:12:56.37\00:12:58.31
the messenger of
Satan to buffet me,
00:12:58.34\00:13:00.11
lest I should be
exalted above measure.
00:13:00.14\00:13:03.08
For this thing I be
sought the Lord thrice,
00:13:03.11\00:13:06.25
that it might depart from me.
00:13:06.28\00:13:07.78
And He said unto me
00:13:07.82\00:13:09.25
My Grace is sufficient for thee:
00:13:09.28\00:13:12.72
For my strength is
made perfect in weakness.
00:13:12.75\00:13:18.29
Most gladly therefore,
00:13:18.33\00:13:19.66
will I rather
glory in my infirmities,
00:13:19.69\00:13:21.83
that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.
00:13:21.86\00:13:25.53
Therefore I take pleasure
in infirmities, in reproaches,
00:13:25.57\00:13:28.77
in necessities, in persecutions,
00:13:28.80\00:13:31.07
in distresses for Christ's sake:
00:13:31.11\00:13:33.07
For when I am weak.
00:13:33.11\00:13:35.24
then am I strong."
00:13:35.28\00:13:37.68
The Bible makes it
clear that when a man
00:13:37.71\00:13:39.81
can recognize and
accept his weaknesses,
00:13:39.85\00:13:43.02
he will lean on the
strength of someone else
00:13:43.05\00:13:46.35
that is stronger than him
00:13:46.39\00:13:47.72
to help him
through his circumstances.
00:13:47.76\00:13:49.09
And is that another man?
00:13:49.12\00:13:50.49
And that is
definitely not another man,
00:13:50.53\00:13:51.96
because the
blind leading the blind
00:13:51.99\00:13:53.33
got the same destination,
00:13:53.36\00:13:54.70
they're going to
fall into the ditch.
00:13:54.73\00:13:56.06
But if the blind goes
to someone who can see,
00:13:56.10\00:13:58.93
then obviously,
that person you can see,
00:13:58.97\00:14:00.60
can give them
good, faithful guidance.
00:14:00.64\00:14:02.27
So if I'm weak,
morally speaking,
00:14:02.30\00:14:04.54
if I'm weak,
spiritually speaking,
00:14:04.57\00:14:06.11
the last thing I want to
do is go to another moral
00:14:06.14\00:14:07.91
or weak man
that's just as blind,
00:14:07.94\00:14:09.28
messed up, and weak,
and wretched as I am.
00:14:09.31\00:14:10.85
Or woman. Or woman.
00:14:10.88\00:14:12.21
Or parent.
00:14:12.25\00:14:13.58
Or parent, or son or daughter,
anybody, even minister.
00:14:13.62\00:14:16.89
What we want to do is
recognize we are all sinners.
00:14:16.92\00:14:20.09
The Bible says, in
Romans 3:23 "All have sinned."
00:14:20.12\00:14:22.62
So I'm not going to
go to another sinner
00:14:22.66\00:14:24.69
to find salvation.
00:14:24.73\00:14:26.06
What I want to go to is a Savior
00:14:26.09\00:14:27.86
who can give salvation.
00:14:27.90\00:14:29.23
And this is the principle
that governed Daniel's mind.
00:14:29.26\00:14:32.40
He humbled himself, "You know,
00:14:32.43\00:14:33.77
I can't save myself
out of the situation."
00:14:33.80\00:14:35.14
Yeah.
00:14:35.17\00:14:36.50
So therefore, he came to
the one who could save him.
00:14:36.54\00:14:37.87
And God did save.
00:14:37.91\00:14:39.24
Now something
interesting as well is,
00:14:39.27\00:14:41.58
it's not that you
can't go to other individuals
00:14:41.61\00:14:44.95
and talk about issues.
00:14:44.98\00:14:47.42
It's not that you
can't seek counsel
00:14:47.45\00:14:49.55
because Daniel
went to his friends,
00:14:49.58\00:14:52.85
his close friends and said,
00:14:52.89\00:14:54.22
"This is the problem,
this is the situation.
00:14:54.26\00:14:56.32
This is what we need to do."
00:14:56.36\00:14:57.73
So he incorporated
his friends, he didn't...
00:14:57.76\00:15:00.03
Again, not only is
he seeking God's help,
00:15:00.06\00:15:02.43
but he's listening
or employing the support
00:15:02.46\00:15:07.14
and the petitions
also of his friends
00:15:07.17\00:15:09.37
to also petition
God in union with him.
00:15:09.40\00:15:12.04
Now since you
brought that point up,
00:15:12.07\00:15:13.68
I want to build on that.
00:15:13.71\00:15:15.04
We know that
Proverbs 15:22 tells us that,
00:15:15.08\00:15:18.21
"In the multitude of
counselors, there's safety."
00:15:18.25\00:15:21.08
Okay. But here's the thing.
00:15:21.12\00:15:22.88
Are there good
counselors and bad counselors?
00:15:22.92\00:15:24.45
Yes. Definitely.
00:15:24.49\00:15:25.82
So what we want
to do for ourselves
00:15:25.85\00:15:27.49
and also for our viewers
00:15:27.52\00:15:28.86
is we want to help them
understand good counselors.
00:15:28.89\00:15:30.99
There's a very
easy way, biblical way,
00:15:31.03\00:15:32.46
that we can
define good counselors.
00:15:32.49\00:15:34.26
We know that in the multitude
of counselors, there's safety.
00:15:34.30\00:15:36.67
So we can go to
people to receive counsel.
00:15:36.70\00:15:39.30
But here's a very key point
00:15:39.33\00:15:40.70
in Psalms the 119th
division and verse 24.
00:15:40.74\00:15:44.07
In Psalm 119:24,
here's what the Bible says,
00:15:44.11\00:15:48.34
it says, "Thy testimonies
00:15:48.38\00:15:52.01
also are my
delight and my counselors."
00:15:52.05\00:15:56.99
So the Bible makes it
clear that the testimonies,
00:15:57.02\00:15:59.19
the Bible, the
Word of God, it says...
00:15:59.22\00:16:01.52
David says that
this is my counselor.
00:16:01.56\00:16:05.33
So I don't have any problem
listening to a human counselor
00:16:05.36\00:16:09.56
as long as their
minds are subject
00:16:09.60\00:16:11.93
to the inspired counselor.
00:16:11.97\00:16:13.30
Right, so in
other words, the counsel
00:16:13.34\00:16:14.67
has to be
compatible with the Word?
00:16:14.70\00:16:16.04
That's right.
00:16:16.07\00:16:17.41
And if it's not,
then it's bad counsel.
00:16:17.44\00:16:18.77
It's bad counsel.
00:16:18.81\00:16:20.14
So therefore, if
we're going to get counsel,
00:16:20.18\00:16:21.51
that's all right, you can
get it from a human being,
00:16:21.54\00:16:22.88
but that human
being needs to tap
00:16:22.91\00:16:24.25
into the power of God's word
00:16:24.28\00:16:25.61
and make sure
that all their counsel
00:16:25.65\00:16:27.02
is in harmony
with God's counsel.
00:16:27.05\00:16:28.45
And in the case of Daniel
00:16:28.48\00:16:30.45
where he has to reveal a
dream and an interpretation,
00:16:30.49\00:16:35.12
there's no man that he can
seek out to get that answer,
00:16:35.16\00:16:37.59
he goes straight to the throne.
00:16:37.63\00:16:38.96
That's right.
00:16:38.99\00:16:40.33
And when he got his guys
together, did you notice,
00:16:40.36\00:16:42.20
he didn't get the other guys
in Israel or Judah together?
00:16:42.23\00:16:44.77
He didn't get them, did they?
00:16:44.80\00:16:46.13
Because they
demonstrated that their minds
00:16:46.17\00:16:47.84
were not subject
to God's counsels
00:16:47.87\00:16:49.64
because the Bible says that
the only people that were found
00:16:49.67\00:16:52.87
to be faithful in
God's word and God's truth
00:16:52.91\00:16:54.94
were those four Daniel,
Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael.
00:16:54.98\00:16:58.11
So Daniel went
to those whose minds
00:16:58.15\00:16:59.61
were subject to the
counselors and Daniel said,
00:16:59.65\00:17:01.78
"Let's come together in counsel
and seek the Heavenly counsel."
00:17:01.82\00:17:03.72
Yeah.
00:17:03.75\00:17:05.09
So we see that
Daniel humbled himself
00:17:05.12\00:17:08.12
and he
understood his weaknesses.
00:17:08.16\00:17:10.26
And this was a blessing,
this was of benefit to Daniel
00:17:10.29\00:17:12.86
and his Father came
through on his behalf.
00:17:12.89\00:17:15.10
And that's the same for
you and the same for me.
00:17:15.13\00:17:17.03
We have that promise viewers
00:17:17.07\00:17:18.43
that we can look
to the Word of God
00:17:18.47\00:17:20.24
and God can guide us,
he can give us counsel,
00:17:20.27\00:17:23.14
instruction and
wisdom, strength and power.
00:17:23.17\00:17:26.68
I know what it was
when I was found out
00:17:26.71\00:17:28.61
that hip-hop and R&B culture
00:17:28.64\00:17:30.15
was a deceptive
unit by the enemy
00:17:30.18\00:17:31.88
that was bringing me in a path
00:17:31.91\00:17:33.25
that was pulling
me away from God,
00:17:33.28\00:17:35.15
away from a true
knowledge of self.
00:17:35.18\00:17:37.19
And God had to give power to me
for me to walk away from that,
00:17:37.22\00:17:40.96
especially being in
the entertainment industry.
00:17:40.99\00:17:43.36
It was near to
impossible for me to walk away
00:17:43.39\00:17:45.83
except it be for
the grace of God.
00:17:45.86\00:17:47.86
That same grace that
was sufficient for Paul,
00:17:47.90\00:17:50.40
that same grace that
was sufficient for me
00:17:50.43\00:17:52.57
is the same grace
that is sufficient for you
00:17:52.60\00:17:54.80
and it's available to you
if you would simply ask for it
00:17:54.84\00:17:57.77
and accept it
as it comes to you.
00:17:57.81\00:18:00.38
Lance, we see that, you know,
00:18:00.41\00:18:03.14
the Bible shows this principle
00:18:03.18\00:18:04.75
of humbling
ourselves before God,
00:18:04.78\00:18:06.95
recognizing our weaknesses,
00:18:06.98\00:18:08.58
not striving to be
better than each other,
00:18:08.62\00:18:11.95
but that we are
to do something else.
00:18:12.02\00:18:13.69
We are to humble
ourselves before God
00:18:13.72\00:18:15.82
and then we are to
fulfill 1 Corinthians Chapter 9.
00:18:15.86\00:18:19.56
The Bible tells us something
00:18:19.59\00:18:20.93
in 1 Corinthians
Chapter 9 that I love.
00:18:20.96\00:18:23.30
And this is the idea,
and this is why we talk about
00:18:23.33\00:18:25.43
this battling principle,
this competition principle,
00:18:25.47\00:18:28.87
the domination, survival of one
versus the loss of the other,
00:18:28.90\00:18:32.47
this is not God's plan.
00:18:32.51\00:18:33.84
No.
00:18:33.88\00:18:35.21
But God does give a plan
00:18:35.24\00:18:36.58
and it's in I
Corinthians the 9th chapter.
00:18:36.61\00:18:37.95
There's many other verses,
but I like 1 Corinthians 9,
00:18:37.98\00:18:39.91
it spells it out pretty good.
00:18:39.95\00:18:41.45
And this is how Paul spells
it out in 1 Corinthians 9,
00:18:41.48\00:18:43.59
we're going to look at verse 25,
00:18:43.62\00:18:46.32
it says, "And every man"
00:18:46.35\00:18:49.36
In fact, I'd like to go
ahead and start at verse 24.
00:18:49.39\00:18:51.53
I think it'll give a
little bit more clarity,
00:18:51.56\00:18:53.03
'cause Paul's
talking about running a race.
00:18:53.06\00:18:55.00
Yeah. So let me do it this way.
00:18:55.03\00:18:56.46
In 1
Corinthians 9:24-27 it says,
00:18:56.50\00:19:02.20
"Know ye not that they
which run in a race run all,
00:19:02.24\00:19:05.51
but one receiveth the prize?
00:19:05.54\00:19:09.14
So run, that ye may obtain.
00:19:09.18\00:19:11.88
And every man that
striveth for the mastery
00:19:11.91\00:19:16.28
is temperate in all things.
00:19:16.32\00:19:18.09
Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown,
00:19:18.12\00:19:19.85
but we an incorruptible.
00:19:19.89\00:19:21.66
I therefore so
run, not as uncertainly,
00:19:21.69\00:19:24.03
so fight I, not as
one that beateth the air,
00:19:24.06\00:19:26.13
but I keep my
body under subjection--
00:19:26.16\00:19:28.80
I keep under my body,
and bring it into subjection.
00:19:28.83\00:19:31.73
Lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others,
00:19:31.77\00:19:34.17
I myself should be a castaway."
00:19:34.20\00:19:36.47
Interesting.
00:19:36.50\00:19:37.84
Paul is talking
about running a race
00:19:37.87\00:19:39.37
and he's using
the, the, you know,
00:19:39.41\00:19:41.98
races that was done in
his day and of course--
00:19:42.01\00:19:43.75
Yeah, like the track and field,
00:19:43.78\00:19:45.78
athletics, the
Olympic, you know, games--
00:19:45.81\00:19:47.95
Exactly.
00:19:47.98\00:19:49.32
That would have
not existed in his day?
00:19:49.35\00:19:50.69
Exactly.
00:19:50.72\00:19:52.05
But when Paul talks
about running this race,
00:19:52.09\00:19:53.42
he uses the contrast
in the worldly structure
00:19:53.46\00:19:55.16
where he says, "Only
one receives the prize."
00:19:55.19\00:19:57.09
But then when he transitions
more so into the spiritual,
00:19:57.13\00:19:59.89
he says," So we
are running this race."
00:19:59.93\00:20:02.23
In other words, when
we run this spiritual race
00:20:02.26\00:20:04.77
he indicates to us
that all of us can win.
00:20:04.80\00:20:08.00
It doesn't have to be,
where I win, but you lose.
00:20:08.04\00:20:11.31
Yeah.
00:20:11.34\00:20:12.67
But, it's more
so, all of us can win.
00:20:12.71\00:20:14.04
And this is the
principle and you know what?
00:20:14.08\00:20:15.74
You see it in Daniel's life
00:20:15.78\00:20:17.51
because when
Daniel wanted to be spared
00:20:17.55\00:20:19.91
from the King's wrath,
00:20:19.95\00:20:21.28
did Daniel just want to
spare himself in his four,
00:20:21.32\00:20:22.92
and his three friends?
00:20:22.95\00:20:24.29
No. No.
00:20:24.32\00:20:25.65
Daniel wanted to
spare the magicians as well.
00:20:25.69\00:20:27.02
You see that?
00:20:27.06\00:20:28.39
That's what the
spirit of humility does.
00:20:28.42\00:20:29.86
It shows a care for others,
00:20:29.89\00:20:31.49
even though those
others don't do what you do.
00:20:31.53\00:20:34.26
Because Daniel was a
man filled with compassion.
00:20:34.30\00:20:36.87
And this is what humility does,
00:20:36.90\00:20:38.73
this is what humbling
ourselves before God does.
00:20:38.77\00:20:41.77
But Nebuchadnezzar, he
did not demonstrate humility.
00:20:41.80\00:20:44.97
Nebuchadnezzar was not one
who humbled himself before God.
00:20:45.01\00:20:48.54
And as a result of
that, God had to humble him.
00:20:48.58\00:20:52.41
And notice how the Bible
brings this out in Daniel 4,
00:20:52.45\00:20:54.62
that was going to be the,
pretty much, the last text
00:20:54.65\00:20:56.18
that I wanted to
bring out in this session.
00:20:56.22\00:20:58.59
In Daniel the 4th chapter,
00:20:58.62\00:21:00.69
Nebuchadnezzar has
seen a lot by this time,
00:21:00.72\00:21:03.22
he's already seen
Daniel interpret dreams,
00:21:03.26\00:21:05.36
he's also tried to go
ahead and set up an image
00:21:05.39\00:21:08.26
and make everybody
bow to it to the point
00:21:08.30\00:21:09.93
he tried to kill the
three Hebrew faithfuls.
00:21:09.96\00:21:12.57
And he's, kind of, you
know, flip-flopping, waffling,
00:21:12.60\00:21:15.84
going back and forth,
'cause what was his reaction
00:21:15.87\00:21:18.24
to Daniel interpreting the dream
00:21:18.27\00:21:20.58
and giving him the
dream and interpretation?
00:21:20.61\00:21:23.31
What was his initial reaction?
00:21:23.35\00:21:24.75
Yeah, in Daniel 2:
46- 49, the Bible shows
00:21:24.78\00:21:27.75
that King
Nebuchadnezzar was amazed,
00:21:27.78\00:21:30.55
King Nebuchadnezzar praised God.
00:21:30.59\00:21:33.22
He praised the God
of heaven and earth,
00:21:33.25\00:21:34.99
not the false gods,
but the true living God.
00:21:35.02\00:21:37.06
King Nebuchadnezzar
took God's servants
00:21:37.09\00:21:39.26
and exalted them
to a high position
00:21:39.29\00:21:41.03
in his government.
00:21:41.06\00:21:42.40
So it would look as
if King Nebuchadnezzar
00:21:42.43\00:21:43.97
was really receiving God's truth
00:21:44.00\00:21:46.53
now in his own heart.
00:21:46.57\00:21:47.90
And I believe he was. Right.
00:21:47.94\00:21:49.27
But we know that the
devil plays for keeps.
00:21:49.30\00:21:50.64
So then--
00:21:50.67\00:21:52.01
And... go ahead.
00:21:52.04\00:21:53.38
So then in chapter 3, he
makes this image and the,
00:21:53.41\00:21:56.01
kind of, counterfeit, showing
that he is going to be eternal,
00:21:56.04\00:21:59.91
and his kingdom is eternal,
he's going to last forever,
00:21:59.95\00:22:01.78
he's the dominant one,
00:22:01.82\00:22:03.15
and he's going to
continue to be dominant.
00:22:03.18\00:22:04.55
So that, kind of, that brief
flash of humility disappeared.
00:22:04.59\00:22:08.59
And then we have that story
where he cast the Hebrew boys
00:22:08.62\00:22:12.16
who stood again,
took another stand
00:22:12.19\00:22:13.90
and didn't worship the image
00:22:13.93\00:22:15.26
like everyone
else was commanded to.
00:22:15.30\00:22:16.97
They get thrown in
this fiery furnace.
00:22:17.00\00:22:19.30
God delivers
them from the furnace
00:22:19.33\00:22:21.50
and what's
Nebuchadnezzar reaction to that?
00:22:21.54\00:22:23.54
And, Nebuchadnezzar
sees them in the furnace,
00:22:23.57\00:22:25.94
but he's at first, exulting
over this because he's like,
00:22:25.97\00:22:28.81
"That's right,
they're getting punishment
00:22:28.84\00:22:30.41
for going against the king."
00:22:30.45\00:22:31.78
But then next thing you know,
00:22:31.81\00:22:33.15
Nebuchadnezzar
says, "Wait a minute!
00:22:33.18\00:22:34.68
We put three in.
00:22:34.72\00:22:36.48
But now we see four
00:22:36.52\00:22:38.59
and one of them
looks like the Son of man."
00:22:38.62\00:22:40.96
And here it is that
as Nebuchadnezzar sees
00:22:40.99\00:22:43.73
the Son of man
walking in that fire
00:22:43.76\00:22:45.66
and he sees them
walking in circles
00:22:45.69\00:22:47.03
and nobody's
dying, nobody's screaming
00:22:47.06\00:22:48.76
and certainly nobody's
being burnt up to death,
00:22:48.80\00:22:51.03
it amazes him to the
point, he says, "Call them out."
00:22:51.07\00:22:54.60
In fact, he went up and
called them out himself.
00:22:54.64\00:22:56.87
And then here it
is, they come out
00:22:56.91\00:22:58.71
and they're still
humble before the...
00:22:58.74\00:23:01.24
I mean, think about it,
00:23:01.28\00:23:02.61
if somebody put me
and you into a fire.
00:23:02.64\00:23:04.08
Right. And in
our natural person.
00:23:04.11\00:23:05.58
Yeah.
00:23:05.61\00:23:07.18
You know, and you put me
in a fire and I'm mad at you,
00:23:07.22\00:23:09.02
obviously, 'cause
you put me in a fire,
00:23:09.05\00:23:10.39
you were trying to kill me.
00:23:10.42\00:23:11.75
And then here it is, I go
into the fire and I'll be like,
00:23:11.79\00:23:13.82
"Wait a minute!
I'm not burning?"
00:23:13.86\00:23:15.26
You know, in the natural sense,
00:23:15.29\00:23:16.93
when the King would call me out,
00:23:16.96\00:23:18.29
I'll be like, "That's right.
00:23:18.33\00:23:19.66
That's right."
00:23:19.69\00:23:21.03
That's right. Yes.
00:23:21.06\00:23:22.40
You know, I'm going to
go ahead and intimidate him
00:23:22.43\00:23:23.90
now because I got
this all this power
00:23:23.93\00:23:25.60
and I will try to show
him, I'm really the King,
00:23:25.63\00:23:27.30
'cause I'm
connected with the King.
00:23:27.34\00:23:28.67
But these men, they come out
00:23:28.70\00:23:30.61
and they're still
humble before the king.
00:23:30.64\00:23:31.97
Consistent.
00:23:32.01\00:23:33.34
I mean, consistent humility,
even in the midst of crisis,
00:23:33.38\00:23:36.31
even when you are
clearly proven wrong.
00:23:36.34\00:23:40.18
And they
could've gloated on that,
00:23:40.22\00:23:42.45
but they saw Nebuchadnezzar
as a soul to be won to God.
00:23:42.48\00:23:45.75
And as a result of
that, humbly they come to him,
00:23:45.79\00:23:48.26
still honoring his position,
and they come to him humbly.
00:23:48.29\00:23:51.66
This is what happens
when you humble yourself.
00:23:51.69\00:23:53.03
Yeah.
00:23:53.06\00:23:54.40
Now Nebuchadnezzar sees
this amazing power of God,
00:23:54.43\00:23:57.17
and you would
think he got the lesson,
00:23:57.20\00:23:58.87
but then in Daniel chapter
4, here's what the Bible says,
00:23:58.90\00:24:01.90
In Daniel chapter 4,
we notice now that after,
00:24:01.94\00:24:05.11
at the end of all these things
and as some time passed by,
00:24:05.14\00:24:07.81
in verse 28 it says this,
00:24:07.84\00:24:10.21
"All this came upon
the King Nebuchadnezzar.
00:24:10.25\00:24:12.95
At the end of twelve months,
00:24:12.98\00:24:14.32
he walked in the palace
of the kingdom of Babylon.
00:24:14.35\00:24:17.12
The king spake, and
said, Is not this great Babylon
00:24:17.15\00:24:20.29
that I have built for the house
of the kingdom by the might
00:24:20.32\00:24:24.66
of my power and for
the honor of my majesty?
00:24:24.69\00:24:30.10
While the word was
in the king's mouth,
00:24:30.13\00:24:32.50
there fell a voice
from heaven saying,
00:24:32.53\00:24:33.97
O King Nebuchadnezzar.
00:24:34.00\00:24:36.17
To thee it is spoken:
00:24:36.20\00:24:37.57
The Kingdom is
departed from thee
00:24:37.61\00:24:40.54
and they shall
drive thee from men,
00:24:40.58\00:24:43.28
and thy dwelling shall be
with the beasts of the field,
00:24:43.31\00:24:46.15
and they shall make
thee to grass as oxen,
00:24:46.18\00:24:49.25
and seven times
shall pass over thee,
00:24:49.28\00:24:51.79
until thou know
00:24:51.82\00:24:53.19
that the Most High
ruleth in the kingdom of men
00:24:53.22\00:24:56.19
and giveth it to
whomsoever He will."
00:24:56.22\00:25:00.26
God had to
humble Nebuchadnezzar.
00:25:00.30\00:25:03.47
And when God humbles you,
00:25:03.50\00:25:04.83
it is clear, it is
evident, and it is serious
00:25:04.87\00:25:07.14
because this man found himself
00:25:07.17\00:25:08.74
in the grass
eating like an animal.
00:25:08.77\00:25:11.14
Crazy. Yeah.
00:25:11.17\00:25:12.51
Lost his mind. Lost his mind.
00:25:12.54\00:25:14.21
And all of this because
he refused to humble himself.
00:25:14.24\00:25:17.38
He was so busy exalting himself.
00:25:17.41\00:25:19.45
And this is the danger
that we want people to see
00:25:19.48\00:25:21.55
through the concepts
of knowledge of self.
00:25:21.58\00:25:23.65
When we begin to
look at ourselves
00:25:23.69\00:25:25.15
and think more of
ourselves than we should
00:25:25.19\00:25:26.86
and we begin to have this
00:25:26.89\00:25:29.12
sometimes
discrete or indiscrete,
00:25:29.16\00:25:31.03
you know, type
of self exaltation,
00:25:31.06\00:25:34.76
it's a deceptive power.
00:25:34.80\00:25:36.26
Where we find ourselves
00:25:36.30\00:25:37.63
not humbling
ourselves before God,
00:25:37.67\00:25:39.00
striving, being rivals
00:25:39.03\00:25:40.50
with even those
whom we call brothers,
00:25:40.54\00:25:42.47
and we will try
to beat each other
00:25:42.50\00:25:44.01
in the name of
entertainment and so on.
00:25:44.04\00:25:46.04
And all of this is
the works of the flesh
00:25:46.07\00:25:48.11
upon which the Bible says,
00:25:48.14\00:25:49.61
"All who do so shall not inherit
00:25:49.64\00:25:51.15
the kingdom of God."
00:25:51.18\00:25:52.51
It is imperative that
we learn the difference
00:25:52.55\00:25:55.68
between what it is to
humble ourselves before God
00:25:55.72\00:25:59.29
versus God having to humble us.
00:25:59.32\00:26:02.02
And we have Daniel as an example
00:26:02.06\00:26:03.79
of a fulfillment of James 4.
00:26:03.83\00:26:05.66
"Humble yourself in
the sight of the Lord.
00:26:05.69\00:26:07.50
He will lift you up."
00:26:07.53\00:26:08.86
That's exactly what
happened with Daniel.
00:26:08.90\00:26:10.43
But Nebuchadnezzar, he
continued to exalt himself
00:26:10.47\00:26:13.80
and he found himself
being abased or humbled.
00:26:13.84\00:26:17.01
And that is not what
God wants for you, for me
00:26:17.04\00:26:19.47
or for you our viewers.
00:26:19.51\00:26:20.88
God wants us to be
faithful, even unto death
00:26:20.91\00:26:23.55
for it is then and
only then we shall receive
00:26:23.58\00:26:25.21
our crowns of life.
00:26:25.25\00:26:26.58
This is the point
00:26:26.61\00:26:27.95
that God wants to
bring out to us, Lance.
00:26:27.98\00:26:29.32
Absolutely amazing.
00:26:29.35\00:26:30.69
Now we've seen these things
00:26:30.72\00:26:33.49
and you have to understand
that there's a clear difference
00:26:33.52\00:26:37.03
between humbling yourself,
00:26:37.06\00:26:39.39
humbling ourselves
and God humbling you.
00:26:39.43\00:26:43.26
If you had to choose, trust me,
00:26:43.30\00:26:45.00
and you'll hear about
this in future episodes,
00:26:45.03\00:26:48.37
we've gone through situations
where God had to humble us
00:26:48.40\00:26:52.51
and that is not the best course.
00:26:52.54\00:26:55.78
You can choose
to humble yourself
00:26:55.81\00:26:58.21
or you can go through
an experience where God
00:26:58.25\00:26:59.95
out of love and mercy
chooses to humble you,
00:26:59.98\00:27:03.39
not to punish,
00:27:03.42\00:27:04.75
but to bring you back
into a right relationship,
00:27:04.79\00:27:07.06
to bring your mind
back into the reality
00:27:07.09\00:27:10.46
to look back and see
how God has delivered you
00:27:10.49\00:27:13.33
and God has done
things for you in the past,
00:27:13.36\00:27:16.33
remind you of past experience
00:27:16.36\00:27:17.83
so that you come back into
a right relationship with God.
00:27:17.87\00:27:20.54
So we want you to
consider these things,
00:27:20.57\00:27:22.64
we want you to weigh them out.
00:27:22.67\00:27:24.01
Go back and study them.
00:27:24.04\00:27:25.67
Consider them.
00:27:25.71\00:27:27.04
And we also...
00:27:27.08\00:27:28.41
We're going to ask
that you send in questions
00:27:28.44\00:27:31.18
in the near future and
we'll provide information
00:27:31.21\00:27:33.82
so you can do that.
00:27:33.85\00:27:35.55
But we want to counsel you.
00:27:35.58\00:27:38.39
Remember, the true source,
00:27:38.42\00:27:41.29
Proverbs 2:6, tells us that,
00:27:41.32\00:27:44.39
"It is the Lord
that gives wisdom
00:27:44.43\00:27:47.96
and out of His mouth comes
knowledge and understanding."
00:27:48.00\00:27:53.64
We thank you
for tuning into TKS,
00:27:53.67\00:27:55.77
A True Knowledge of
Self and we say God bless you
00:27:55.80\00:27:59.07
and come back
and visit us again.
00:27:59.11\00:28:00.81