January 13

We're going to try this other microphone.

Okay.

Yeah, I took it off of mute. Hey, hey, there comes there come. We're trying to bring back bring back all of our equipment here. So. Well, it's a it's a new series, you know how to love series cuz he's not do series because I don't want to wake up every Monday morning. Say what I'm going to be preaching about next week. So I just do it in the series and I can lay out my messages a little ahead of time and that just works better for me. But sometimes it just takes you a few weeks to say everything you got to say now. I could just stop doing serious and say everything I got to say in one session but you'll be here for a long time. So we'll do Siri's so this is called wind and waves when it's waves. I'm not going to talk about the ways as much because waves are actually produced by the wind and so I really don't have to say much about the waves because if there's no when there's no waves. Well, I guess there would be some maybe way back from Calais the moon but that's another thing cuz we have to call out the wind waves and moon series and I'm not going to do that. I'll always had a little trouble with this idea of the difference between some words. You know that somewhere it sound so much alike. Drew probably has his paw. See, you know, just kind of getting a little confused sometimes about the difference between the word affect with an A and the word affect. All right, and so I did a little research cuz I want to make sure I got this right affect and effect are are some in that tricky family of words. This called homophones homophones. They sound the same is what that means. And so when there's words that sound the same, sometimes we get a little mixed up as to how to use those words in a sentence and so effect is almost always uses a verb almost not always but it often is used as a verb and it is used to mean to influence someone or something rather than cause something or the cause of something. So how does the crime rate affect hiring Levels by local police forces? So the crime rate effects. The hiring process in the local police department's I guess we have no crime. You don't need many police officers. All right and are the weather conditions will affect the number of people who will come to the county fair. So there's a fact it's it's kind of a suburb. Although there is at least one area where where the word effect can be a noun and that is an in regard to facial expression. And so when we say someone has a effect in their facial expression and maybe now that they have gone through some shock or something like that and I have very little expression on their face their kind of dumb or whatever. They have they lack of affect. I know where they're not showing anything in their face because of that and then so then there's the word effect affect effect is most often used as a noun it points towards an event or thing. Sullivan used when there when an end result is being discussed. And so we might say what effect did the loss have on the team like in Alabama's case for what effect did that loss have on the team and so I don't know but I'm sure it had some effect on them cuz they're not used to that but also did his leaving have any effect on you. So excuse that way affect occasionally can be used as a verb in one particular situation that can be used to mean to accomplish something or to cause something to happen. So a new manager is bound to affect positive changes in the office. It's not always true could be negative changes. So you got to got to keep these two things separated the difference between affect and effect in order to get this but I'm going to be talking about mainly well I am going to be How about both of these things? So when is an agent that affects? And produces an effect. So when affects things okay, like my hair whatever but it also produces an effect. It may blow something down. That's the effect of the wind. Okay, so it doesn't bother your hair. Is that affect your hair at all? That's right. That's true. I was using it personally here. So in the Bible and this was very interesting Ron because you're not going back in and looking at the ways different things are used because when can be a metaphor, but it can be something obviously very real in scripture. So I went back and looked at the idea of wind in scripture and and so in there some positive ways that God used wind in scripture one is in Exodus chapter 14 verses 21 22 year. One. God was leading the children of Israel out of Egypt that came to the Red Sea and there was a Mighty Wind that lasted a pretty long time that held the waters back. What was holding the waters back was a strong wind or guide used that of course. God was holding them back but he use the instrumentality of the wind to affect those Waters and hold them back. Okay, and then and Genesis chapter 8 and verse 1 after Noah had built the ark in the end it rained and ended cover the Earth with water God cause they win. Send to come and to dry up the Waters of the Earth 2 used when to dry up the water. So we had when we had the flood here this week and we had of the baptistery was leaking and I came in or actually Sue called me and she said the battery is leaking or water all over the floor and it was out to about right here, you know on the front of the auditorium and after I got it drained been cut off and all that kind of stuff done. We called in a company so that they could dry out the water and they stopped it up first and then vacuumed it up and then they had to drive now and 9 this morning. They were still drying it out. We had big fans and everything in here and it's all dried out now. I'll know more stirs being shown anywhere. So we're good. But the wind is very very powerful in drying things up. And then there is this time where I would call it Rehabilitation that the wind can rehabilitate in the case of Ezekiel chapter 36. Valley of dry bones that they were very dry. God caused the Great when to come and those bones begin to shake and Rattle and they begin to come together and God used when to effect that whole change in the bones and bring them all together and then there's that body rushing wind and Acts chapter 2 you remember that and when they were they were waiting and in the upper room and they heard a sound of a mighty rushing wind and it brought Revival in 3000 Souls were baptized in one day and I know most of us preachers have have prayed and prayed and prayed God, please send them naughty rushing wind down again so that we can see that kind of that kind of effect on people's lives. And then there is the wind that God used in regard to Jonah and Jonah chapter one. It says that they were never out on that boat and they were trying to figure that John was running away from God God caused the Great wind to come up and it caused a storm and and of course they had a To figure out who was causing all of this and they ended up throwing Jonah overboard. But even after Jonah got to Nineveh and preach to the people of Nineveh you remember he was sitting and watching over the city and if they sat over the city is watching the city and he was at angry and upset guy calls this this gordor this plant to come over him and provide him with shade and then in the middle of the night a worm got into the plant and when the warm got in the planet withered away and then it says God used a wind a really harsh heat wave when to come and beat on him in order to make it even more uncomfortable. Okay, and God use that when to teach him a lesson, so it was positive even though he thought so I was a negative and then there's that wind of testing cause a Matthew chapter 7 24 4227. It says that if you build your house on the sand where you build your house on the rock when the winds come they're going to that wind is going to beat on that house and it's going to test whether or not your foundation is strong. And so when can be used as a testing agent, but there's some also some ways in which wind are just as destructive is a negative thing. And so there's a there's a destructive win for Essence in Ezekiel chapter 13 verse 13 He talks there about eight whitewashed flimsy wall in Ezekiel chapter 13, and this one was a wall of they saw it as a wallet protection around them. But he said it's just a whitewash wall is flimsy. That won't hold up and I'm going to show you and he Rams win against that wall and knocks the wall down in order to show people that they are not as secure as they think they are and he uses it that way and James chapter 1 verse 6. There's this wind about doubting. He says that when a person prays and if they doubt why they're praying they're like a is like a wind that come and it produces this instability are in a person's life where where they is like a wave that is that is moved by the wind and and that's what happens when a person doubts then their faith wavers and and it's not strong and then there's the consequences you heard the phrase and Hosea chapter 8 verse 7, you sow to the wind and what are you reap? If I know your sow to the wind you reap what the world wind. Okay, so you can sow to the wind and other words you may you may be so into one thing and you may stir up more problems and you can think of here. All right that little thing that comes off the coast of Africa and it's just a it's just a little wind that comes off the coast of Africa by the time it hits Florida. It might be Irma. Okay, you sound to the wind going to reap the Whirlwind it, you know, you start that thing spinning you don't know where it's going to end. And you know, we don't know what kind of damage just going to do. Here is the one we're going to talk about the division chapter 4, this is Mikey text in this entire series Ephesians chapter 4 verse 14. I'm going to tell you the contacts in a minute for the verse says then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning in the craftiness of men and their deceitful scheme. Alright, so what does birth second sink in? The only want to get to is is is that we don't want to be infants. We want to be stable enough so that when the winds come that we're not going to be blowing all over the place and we're going to be able to stand. UK prime minister Howard McMillan back in April 3rd of 1960 he was in South Africa. And if you can think back so us old enough to remember 1960b if you can think back and around that. Of time, there was a lot a lot of things going on with apartheid and things were changing and across the continent of Africa and and it was and they could see that it was not going to be the remnants of colonialism that has existed for two or three centuries in Africa and hear something that McMillan said. He says the Wind of Change is blowing through this continent and whether we like it or not this growth of national Consciousness is a political fact that words. He saw in 1960 that the wind that was blowing through that cotton was going to change the face of that continent forever that it was never going to be the same and he was exactly right. You can see that from where we are today that doesn't mean change is always positive. But it does mean that change will come it will come change is happening. So quickly these days I fear that we failed to notice how far we've often drifted from the shore someone wrote these words. I don't know who wrote them, but they came from somewhere and I thought they were good enough to share with you most judge change within the context of their lifetime. In other words. We see change in the context of when I was a child and now I'm this old and the changes that occurred historians judge change over longer periods of time. They look at several sometimes centuries. In order to judge the changes that have occurred and then there are philosophers who spawned change by espousing new ideas. They're the one who influenced a lot of the changes that go on the world because they start thinking up new ideas. And then there are politicians who exploit change to their advantage off and not always about not all politicians that way but many of them will explode the changes that are going down to their own advantage and then there are conservatives. And again, these are generalizations conservatives off Andries resist change without knowing why they're resisting it. We can all fall into that category. I don't know. I just want everything to stay just like it is but we don't know why we want to stay like it is liberals off and embrace change without seeing his consequences. We talked about the slippery slope that you don't realize who start here. If you start changing disc, where is that going to end up and some people just don't think about the consequences of the changes and Christians though. I must assess change in view of an unchanging God. And a perfect Jesus there has to be some kind of fix point of reference in order for us to assess change and to know whether is good change or bad change and the only way we're going to be able to do that is to have an unchanging God in our minds and that's why we hold to God's unchanging hand now they share with you these and shop for some of that some things about that chapter and then I'll tell you where we're going to go in the series and then we'll be done. The context of Ephesians chapter 4 is Paul is talking there in that chapter at least in beginning verse 11 would be a good place to start to go pick up the but the thought but it Tom is is talking about create there's an environment in which growth can take place in a person's life. That's why I gave some to be Apostles some to be prophets some to be evangelists some to be Elder son to be for pastors and some to be teachers. Because their job is to equip people for the works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up an inverse 14U says if all that's working like it's supposed to then you'll no longer be infants. You won't be blown about by every wind of teaching and Doctrine and schemes of men and so forth. And and so you instead and verse 15, you'll be able to speak the truth and love and by that grow up into him who is perfect that is Christ and to the character of Christ. That's the context in which is speaking here. He mentions infants and I've been able to observe that pretty much because Ron I have a lot of grandkids and they're all different stages and ages and so I got one from about twenty all the way down to eight months old and we keep the eight-month-old quite frequently and she is so recently I've seen her go through the stage of where she was scooting along like a marine on her belly, you know, she was doing that for a while now, she's up on her knees and she's able to get that notion going so she's doing that. And now she's pulling up on things but she's not real stable about that and we have to really really watch her when she starts pulling up on things in the end and Ice Brenda was was at her she was pulled up and standing there by Brenda and Brenda just kind of took her hands off of her just for a second just to see what would happen. And you know, what the little eight month old id

I mean like she was drunk. I mean she was just those legs or just not very stable or balance wasn't very good. I mean she was just wobbling all over the place and we knew she was going to go down and Score Sports grandma. Do of course she grabs her and all of that but you know, everyone of us in our lives at some point not just being 8 months old we all were but all of us spiritually you were at some point in our life where we were much more unstable than we are today. Hopefully, hopefully not going backwards. And so this stability that we need in our lives is and if we had to take a little Molly and stood her up like that and then put some powerful fans on her to blow her even more. I mean, just think about how how unstable she would have been I mean she was in the safety of Grandma's arms. I mean she wasn't going anywhere, but if she if we did introduce other influences in into her environment, then she could have very easily fallen and hurt herself. And so there is this idea of the infant's hear, you know, getting balance and strength in the legs and experience and standing and eventually walking all of those things will come but they're not there yet. And then he talks about the metaphor of the Winds and the waves just a metaphor for the influences that produce produces the alterations in our lives and most of the time those alterations can be very destructive alterations in our life. They're not things, you know, the winds that blow through here that you know when they pick up we got a fence in the backyard. We're working our neighbors were trying to work with our neighbors that the Spanish replaced because it's being propped up right now. Okay, and so when the winds come through, you know, that thing is is wobbling a lots right off and post a write off the ground several several of them. So we got some work to do here to get that fence replacement actually belongs to my neighbor, so I can't just run out there and kind of do it. Maybe I couldn't a problem like safe. Thank you, but Not willing to do that yet. I'm still working on that but the stronger the wind and the more powerful the wave the harder it is to Mainstay maintain our stability. And so that's why Jesus is parable of the wise and the foolish man who built their house on the sand in the rock is a perfect illustration of this because when the wind's coming to waves beat on that house it was made out of in the sand the foundation of it is going to determine whether or not that house is going to stand by the wind in this particular passage is teaching. It makes it clear that is not just any know when it's a win that is characterized by teaching. Now if you think of teaching is simply not just always in a formal classroom setting but just think of teaching is we learn things and all kinds of different ways. Alter Our Lives, we're learning stuff and the teaching that affects us in our lifetime are the things that influence the way we are today. You know, you've learned all kinds of things in your lifetime and it all of those things have helped to shape you into who you are today and saw how the question is. How are people influenced the change? Well if I want to change somebody one way I can do it is by force. I mean I can probably get you to do something if I have a gun and I put that gun to your head and I said I want you to do this. I mean there may be a limit to what you would actually do under fear death, but there might be a number of things, you know, like in the old westerns where they would shoot you shoot at your feet and say dance dance and I mean just like, okay. Alright you're shooting at my feet. I'm going to dance for you. I need to know so you can get people to do a lot of things if you force them to do it, but most of the change that occurs in our life is not because we're forced to do it not because somebody holding a gun to her head her or beaten into submission to do it. Most of it comes because of teaching we teach people we indoctrinate people we persuade people we give them instructions about things. Now there may be some fear of consequence or some fear of something bad happening. If we don't do what is that said but we try to use words to persuade people both what is tall and what is not taught the war over Evolution for instance in the school is a prime example of sex education is another good example or because Nelson Mandela and I thought this was a great quote talk of South Africa. He says education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world and it is a powerful weapon. We counter the teachings of this world with a teaching about God my observation is this is just where I what I observed is it the world gives great great attention to teaching I mean I give up I put a lot of poor importance on teaching and persuasion and they prepare lessons and and they prepare courses and and and campaigns and all kinds of ways to get messages out and very slick ways. Very persuasive ways. I would say the world does a first-rate job of getting this message out. And they do it. Now. There's more ways than ever to get the message out. Now, there's more ways than there's so many different ways to eat to get your thoughts and your message out but there's more messages out there than ever either. I mean just y'all believe it Google something. I mean, you know anything and you're going to find you know, how all kinds of different ways to look at the same message or the same idea and all of us gets very confusing but I believe the world does an extraordinary job. And then when you add to that compulsory education our kids have to be in school for 7 hours a day, you know for 5 days a week to how many days a year 200 and something days a year OK and and so there is compulsory education. And then we try to combat that within the church with Bible classes that we might have an hour or two a week formal Bible classes that we offer and guess what? They're not compulsory. I'm not making you come to a Bible class. It's always look at just the compact competition here with the school system that has the force of law behind it that says you have to put your kid in school for 7 hours a day 5 days a week and the church over here that that says you have some optional courses that you can expose your children to and if it is optional in your home as well. There's nothing compository about about any of that look at the the disparity between the two systems. You're not arguing for a particular system is showing you the world has your children much more than you do. in in direct educational opportunities

and then there's this other idea that's in this passage is the cunning and the crack Inus of men and their deceitful scheming. Christian's that's what we better stop being so naive.

You know, I know I want to give everybody the benefit of the doubt. I don't want to I don't want to and I don't want to put something on somebody that's not there, but I don't be naive either. There are people in this world that are up to no good. There are people in this world who are scheming and they're cutting their craft and they're putting messages out that will destroy us and our children. And we need to be aware and we need to acknowledge that that that's the world that we live in these ideologies are all over the page some of them or spiritual ideologies that I think I'll Kathy you sent me something this week about Buddhist Meditation being required in the schools and some school systems where kids are being exposed and they're using the very language of Buddhism to teach them to meditate that you can say what's wrong with meditation. There's nothing wrong with meditation. It depends on the objects of the meditation in the purpose of the meditation if the purpose of the meditation is simply as that it says in this article, the purpose of the meditation is simply is simply to empty your mind of any thoughts of your own and a be absorbed into the consciousness of the universe. Well, that is not what God says anywhere in his work. In fact, if anything, he says you need to stay tuned into the thoughts of your mind and you need to let your mind be transformed by the renewing of your mind and have the mind of Christ. We're going to talk about the mind of Christ on Wednesday night and this new class. But let's not be naive there. There are people who want to destroy our faith in Jesus Christ and systems of thought that are being deliberately put together in order to undermine our faith and Justice Satan is cunning and crafty and he wants to destroy mankind. There's a lot of people that have signed up under him that have been tutored by him and they're doing exactly the same thing to remind remind our faith. And so if we're going to not allow these winds to blow through our lives and influence us in the wrong kind of way. We better understand what the cunning and craftiness of men is all about. This series is going to be about identifying some of the major hurricane force winds. I'm not picking some of the little things here. I'm going to take a pic some major hurricane force winds that are blowing through Friday that at least in the in the course of my lifetime. I've observed that are huge fundamental winds that are blowing through that are changing things fundamentally in our nation and in our churches. And so we're going to talk about those things and I'm going to give you what is the underlined cuz there's a core there's a core common denominator of all these winds that corecomm denominator is going from a state of dependence on God to an independent lifestyle. We're going from a state of being God Center to being man-centered. That is probably the underlying course of this wind is how do we get people away from dependence on God more to being just independent of God getting away from being God's inner tubing man-centered and that's what opens the door for us. Simply to say things. Like will you have your truth? And I have my truth and I will attack that in one of the lessons here because that is just a bunch of who it there is no your truth in my truth because if it's if that's what it is, then that's quit calling a truce because no it's not truth anymore. It's just not truth anymore. This opinion is your opinion in my opinion, but it's not truth anymore because the definition of the word truth is inherent in the word that is subjective and it doesn't depend on what you think about her. I think about it it is or it isn't okay. It is either true or not true. So I've identified four major areas where I thinking has shifted or shifting and we're being blown off course in our lives in our thinking in this country and and often in our churches and imma give you what those for our and then I'm about done. There's life issues. We're going to talk about next Sunday because next Sunday is two days away from the anniversary of Roe v Wade, and we're going to be talking about life fishing state issues like abortion euthanasia and genocide there's a common theme in all of those and that's the cheapening of human life. Is that life is no longer very valuable anymore. It's disposable isn't is dispensable and and we can just simply eliminated at will and we're doing that with abortion with euthanasia. And of course genocides occurs all over the world the century before us and that's when starting out pretty bad as well the century before this one was the bloodiest Century in the history of mankind more people were killed in genocide in thats in the in the 20th century than any other Century since the world began even though you say there's a Kinder gentler God There's not a Kinder in general people. People are ruthless. people are being Kill by the millions of this world the second issue we're going to take up his gender and sexual issues. Thanks, like marriage and gender identity and roles of men and women and again, this isn't going to be a class on the role of men and women in the church per se but there's some underlying principles that are involved in all of this and that there are differences in men and women there is gender identity issues that need to be considered and there's issues of marriage that tie into all of that so gender and sexual issues or something that's a win to Hurricane force wind is blowing through our society and we need to get back and say what did God what do you say about that? And then the third one is truth issues post-modernism morality at 40. Where does that stand in our lives today? And then finally is church issues and this is maybe more of the effects of some of these other things but there are there are a tenants in my opinion for the church become more worldly more me centered less loyal on TV. Idealistic, all of those things are happening. I believe we're seeing a trend towards that and there's something is blowing us off course, something is blowing us off course. So those are the four areas we're going to be talking about and I was just simply ask you personally to do some self evaluation. How is the wind affecting your life? because the winds blowing I know my hair is pretty messed up.

I know I got a cone mind back a lot more frequently these days.

It's affecting us to are we aware of it of how it's affecting us?

division Central Church of Christ Play people. Do you have an authentic and growing relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ?

We're going to be authentic as God describes authenticity. It's got to be got to be. We're standing strong standing firm and not allowing these winds and waves to blow us off course.

so we're going to tackle those in the next few weeks and I invite you to stay with me on the series and you got some other things to add to that would be glad to have your input as well. We're going to stand and sing a song If You're something we can help you do. Cannot allow the wind to blow you away and let us know what that is.

I try and I try and I try.

Until we put our trust in him. It's been good to be together. If you did fill out one of our attendance cards and asked you to pass that to the center aisle, and those will be taking next weekend. I appreciate your prayers for us. We will be in Greensboro and hopefully with a reveal party to find out. What we're getting in those Twins and I figure Rod that was five more sets of twins. I'll catch up to you. So I'm going to have a good after my kids on that and we'll see what we can do. We just got word from them. There's a really nasty storm coming through the center section there the country and their of their power is off and there's an ice storm going on through dangerous circumstances. So appreciate you continue to keep them in your prayers, and let's go ahead and we'll pray together and we will be dismissed father. Thank you for bringing us together today. Is so good to come into your presence. With the Lord Jesus here in the spirit feeling this place. Father your love and grace poured out upon us. dissemble Fellowship to encourage and exhort each other all I pray that no matter what winds blow that we will always that our anchor is in you we believe that our hope is in you and that we will we will focus on those things that are eternal. I do pray for all the names. We looked it up before you this morning. And I pray for those in the path of the storm, especially pray for my kids and keep them safe. Father we praise and thank you for the love. We've experienced in your son. Jesus help us to share that make that known to as many as we can. I pray these things in Jesus name amen. Have a great week.