692. John and Lesa Adams Share Their Personal Testimonies - #2 (Episode 557 - May 21, 2024) - November 26, 2024

[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.

[00:00:21] Let's open in prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today.

[00:00:27] I pray that the testimony that you will be hearing today from John and Lisa would bless everyone listening and that your lives would be changed forever.

[00:00:36] I ask this in Jesus name. Amen. This is Proverbs 26 beginning in verse 1.

[00:00:44] As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

[00:00:51] Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight.

[00:00:59] A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the fool's back.

[00:01:05] Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

[00:01:12] Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

[00:01:18] He who sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

[00:01:27] Like the legs of the lame that hang a limp is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

[00:01:34] Like one who binds a stone in a sling is he who gives honor to a fool.

[00:01:40] Like a thorn that goes into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

[00:01:48] The great God who formed everything gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages.

[00:01:56] As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

[00:02:03] Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?

[00:02:07] There is more hope for a fool than for him.

[00:02:11] The lazy man says there is a lion in the road, a fierce lion in the streets.

[00:02:18] As a door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed.

[00:02:25] The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl.

[00:02:29] It wearies him to bring it back to his mouth.

[00:02:32] The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.

[00:02:40] He who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a dog by the ears.

[00:02:50] Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says,

[00:02:58] I was only joking.

[00:03:00] Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.

[00:03:04] And where there is no tail bearer, strife ceases.

[00:03:08] As charcoal is to burning coals and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife.

[00:03:17] The words of a tail bearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.

[00:03:25] Fervent lips with a wicked heart are like earthenware covered with silver dross.

[00:03:32] He who hates disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself.

[00:03:39] When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.

[00:03:47] Though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.

[00:03:54] Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

[00:04:02] A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

[00:04:10] Well, friends, I have a special treat for you today.

[00:04:12] I have John and Lisa Adams, and they are repeat visitors.

[00:04:17] But, Lisa, I want to start with you.

[00:04:20] First of all, thanks for joining me.

[00:04:21] It's been probably a year and a half since we did this last time.

[00:04:26] And even though your podcast came out this year in May 21st, that was episode 557.

[00:04:37] It still seems like it was a long time ago because this is going to be episode 692,

[00:04:42] and is going to air on November 26th.

[00:04:46] But, Lisa, we just went over Proverb 26, and if you would, just share with the audience which verse spoke to you today,

[00:04:53] and tell the audience why.

[00:04:55] Okay.

[00:04:59] I was trying to find it in the correct...

[00:05:06] Okay.

[00:05:06] So, the one that really spoke to me is verses 4 and 5.

[00:05:20] Because they seem very contradictory.

[00:05:23] Verse 4 says,

[00:05:30] And then verse 5 says,

[00:05:37] And so, I mean, how can you not answer a fool, and how can you answer a fool?

[00:05:44] And I think the best way that we can do that is through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

[00:05:57] And so, growing up, you know, reading Proverbs, you hear the word fool all the time, and you think, oh, they're stupid.

[00:06:07] Stupid.

[00:06:08] But, when I looked up the word fool, another term that they used for fool is arrogant.

[00:06:18] Okay.

[00:06:18] And then, you know, Webster's, one of the words that they used to describe the word arrogant is stiff-necked.

[00:06:28] And over and over in scripture, God called his people when they were coming out of Egypt, stiff-necked.

[00:06:36] Yeah.

[00:06:36] You know?

[00:06:37] And of course, the very opposite of arrogance is humility.

[00:06:42] Absolutely.

[00:06:43] And so, you know, and so again, you really have to discern the Holy Spirit's leading when you're dealing with arrogant or stiff-necked people.

[00:06:56] Because if you, if left unchecked, their arrogance can cause them to err and make a lot of life mistakes.

[00:07:05] Well, Lacey, you know, you bring up such a good point.

[00:07:08] But I mean, when you talk about humility, I'm going to go to 1 Peter chapter 5.

[00:07:12] And he gives us the instruction.

[00:07:14] He says, clothe yourself with humility.

[00:07:18] Yes.

[00:07:18] And, you know, just you bringing that up tells me, that reminds me of Ephesians chapter 6, where Paul tells us we have to put on the full armor of God.

[00:07:29] Peter is telling us we have to put on humility.

[00:07:33] Yes.

[00:07:33] It's not our general nature to do that.

[00:07:36] So, John, what I'd like to do is you pick out the verse which you spoke and please tell the audience why.

[00:07:42] Okay.

[00:07:44] So, mine is the very first verse because I think it sets the tone for Proverbs 26.

[00:07:49] It says, like snow in the summer and rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.

[00:07:55] So, snow in summer is unseasonable.

[00:08:01] Rain in the harvest is unreasonable because it brings destruction to the crops.

[00:08:06] Honor for a fool is unfitting.

[00:08:09] And I thought about that scripture, other scripture that says, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God.

[00:08:16] And so, for me, and as Lisa says, the word fool is all through Proverbs.

[00:08:23] They're lazy.

[00:08:24] They're unwise.

[00:08:25] They're silly.

[00:08:27] They're arrogant.

[00:08:28] And so, all these attributes of a fool come from the fact that in their heart they say there is no God.

[00:08:35] And so, and I really thought about our political environment today, what we have in one party, you know, who don't believe in God.

[00:08:47] And because of that, we see the reaction and we see their behavior that follows that.

[00:08:53] Because being a fool is not necessarily about behavior.

[00:08:57] It's about what you believe.

[00:08:59] You know, you bring up such a good point.

[00:09:02] Yeah.

[00:09:02] You know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go to, you know, Proverbs 1-7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

[00:09:09] The Proverbs also tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

[00:09:13] And our leadership in Washington right now definitely does not have a fear of God.

[00:09:21] And everything they do follows that because they act like fools.

[00:09:27] And I know you guys have brought up the fact that fools is always in Proverbs.

[00:09:32] I always mention on my podcast, fools to me in Proverbs are nonbelievers.

[00:09:38] Because they simply do not follow the directions of God.

[00:09:42] They don't follow his commandments and they act accordingly, just like our present administration in Washington.

[00:09:51] Lisa, I'd like to begin with you.

[00:09:52] Um, like I said, it's probably been a year and a half since we did.

[00:09:57] And, and the time we did meet, I just kind of want to follow up something that you said.

[00:10:03] Because you said as a young child, you remember as a five year old, you were, you went and lived with your grandmother.

[00:10:10] And that was a little bit hard.

[00:10:12] So at six years old, you, um, at, well, at 12, okay, you were in a children's home and then you were saved at 16.

[00:10:20] And you went over that.

[00:10:22] So I really want to get to the audience and, and their episode was on May 21st of this year.

[00:10:29] And I would highly encourage anyone that listens to this today.

[00:10:34] And if you enjoy what you listen to, please go back to episode 557 because they each have a story to tell.

[00:10:41] And really the reason why I like both of you being on and John and Lisa have graciously accepted my invitation to be regular contributors to this podcast.

[00:10:51] So they're going to be on a regular basis about every five months, but you guys both share the fact that your previous spouse died.

[00:11:00] And so you have that to offer.

[00:11:02] Another thing you have to offer is that you both have a very, very deep connection with Karis.

[00:11:08] So what I kind of like to do, Lisa, what I'd like to begin with you, I think you're the only person I'm going to ask this is since you were the director of global training and you work directly under Carrie Pickett,

[00:11:21] what I'd like for you to do.

[00:11:23] I'm going to kind of put in a plug for Karis Bible college here because the founder of Karis, Andrew Womack and Jamie, his wife, they have recently stepped down and Carrie and Mike Pickett have taken over.

[00:11:37] So I'd like for you to give your perspective of your thoughts on that and the ministry moving forward.

[00:11:46] Yeah.

[00:11:47] Um, I, I, I have had the privilege of being around Andrew Womack for the last six years and I respect him more than you can imagine.

[00:12:03] And so I know that he prays, studies the word, and he really hears and listens to the Holy Spirit.

[00:12:14] And so if he has chosen Mike and Carrie Pickett to succeed him, then you have to believe that it is God ordained.

[00:12:25] And, um, having, you know, I did get to be directly under Carrie for the past two years and she is very wise, very wise.

[00:12:38] Um, and man, she's an incredible teacher.

[00:12:43] And so I think that she's going to do a really good job.

[00:12:49] Well, I agree.

[00:12:51] And, and, and, you know, some of the favorite classes that I took at Karis, of course, I have the connection to Karis too, because Judy and I graduated last year as second year students.

[00:13:01] Now you took it a step further and you graduated third year as a ministry school, um, graduate.

[00:13:07] And then you went advanced after that and you became director of third year.

[00:13:13] So you have a lot to offer and you have a lot of wisdom with that.

[00:13:17] But what I wanted to do is kind of follow up on a question before, because you mentioned as a 16 year old, that when you went back to school, your friends asked and he said, Lisa, what has happened to you?

[00:13:30] What has happened that has changed your life?

[00:13:33] And if you would just kind of review that.

[00:13:36] And how has God changed your life even now, every single day as you move forward?

[00:13:44] Yeah.

[00:13:45] So at the time, um, when they asked me that I had just become a Christian.

[00:13:53] So I had no idea of really what to say or how to even share my faith.

[00:14:00] Um, and so I really just kind of closed up and said, I don't know.

[00:14:05] You know, you know, and I really didn't, I, I, I squandered an opportunity that I had, that I could have had, you know.

[00:14:13] Um, but when I look back on that up until my salvation, I've had a really difficult upbringing.

[00:14:24] I'd had a lot of things happen and a lot of trauma and a lot of things in my life.

[00:14:30] And honestly, I probably didn't smile a whole lot.

[00:14:37] I probably wasn't joyful and happy and outgoing.

[00:14:43] But when I became a Christian and I received the Holy Spirit into my life, that's one of the fruits of the Spirit that he gives us is joy.

[00:14:54] And at the, you know, before, before Christ, BC, I, I had no joy.

[00:15:01] After Christ, I did.

[00:15:03] And even though I didn't realize it, and even though I didn't see that change in myself, and even though I didn't do anything to make that change happen, it, it happened effortlessly.

[00:15:16] And people saw that.

[00:15:19] Well, you know, you make, you make a really good point.

[00:15:22] And I want to go back to our previous podcast.

[00:15:25] And I had gone over Nehemiah 810, which says the joy of the Lord is my strength.

[00:15:32] Now, John, I'm going to transition to you, because one of the comments you made at the time is everything should start with our joy.

[00:15:41] And I thought that was a very impactful statement.

[00:15:45] If you would carry on and just further advance that just a little bit.

[00:15:50] What do you mean it basically starts with joy?

[00:15:55] Well, joy should be our starting point, our default point.

[00:15:58] You know, James says, counted all joy when you fall into diver's temptations.

[00:16:03] And Jesus said, with joy shall you draw from the wells of salvation.

[00:16:08] So it's not me trying to, to get joy, but it's understanding that because of Christ, I have joy in me, you know.

[00:16:18] And so circumstances around me and the enemy is trying to take that joy away from me.

[00:16:25] And he's trying to distract me and get my eyes on the circumstances of life, difficulties, tragedies, the loss, the pain.

[00:16:34] So he can still that joy, you know.

[00:16:37] And because if he can, as one preacher said, if he can still your joy, he can take your possessions.

[00:16:43] So, you know, joy is a weapon.

[00:16:49] I mean, you think about it.

[00:16:50] The devil has a hard time of getting somebody down and distracting somebody and getting somebody in depression and anxiety when they refuse to complain, when they refuse to murmur, when they refuse to give in to those things.

[00:17:05] And that joy is your default setting.

[00:17:08] And I think, for me, it makes all the difference in the world.

[00:17:12] You know, I think you bring up a good point.

[00:17:14] And you're talking about doing everything without complaining.

[00:17:17] I believe that's in Colossians.

[00:17:19] It's at Paul's letter.

[00:17:20] It says, it says, do everything without complaining.

[00:17:24] And, John, I believe that's most people's fallback.

[00:17:29] They just simply complain.

[00:17:32] It's just the natural way of the world.

[00:17:35] And, you know, I'm going to go back to John 10, 10, because, Lisa, you made reference to this in your previous thing.

[00:17:41] You talked about the thief that comes to steal and kill and destroy when he took your husband.

[00:17:47] And he said, no, no, no.

[00:17:48] But the second part of that says, but I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.

[00:17:57] Now, Lisa, you've been through a lot.

[00:17:59] You've lost your husband.

[00:18:01] John has come to you now, almost like a gift.

[00:18:05] To me, it's God's gift to you.

[00:18:08] But if you would talk about that joy that you have because of John now being with you.

[00:18:16] Yeah.

[00:18:20] First of all, I want to say, and I may have said this before, but it's worth repeating.

[00:18:26] You know, people are so used to blaming God for the things that happen.

[00:18:35] You know, if someone dies, oh, it's God.

[00:18:38] If, you know, you lose your job, oh, it's God just punishing me or, you know, teaching me a lesson.

[00:18:43] If I have cancer, oh, it's because whatever.

[00:18:46] God's wanting to teach me a lesson.

[00:18:47] You know, we're basically attributing all of the bad things that happen to God.

[00:18:56] And what is reality is that God has his hands open and filled with good things that he wants to replace and bless us with.

[00:19:08] Of all the things that Satan has took.

[00:19:11] He's wanting to give it back tenfold.

[00:19:14] But we are so busy blaming him that we can't see what he has that he wants to bless us with.

[00:19:23] And because I know that God is so good and because I'm so sure of that in my heart, I was able to see that and recognize that John is a gift.

[00:19:35] John is something that God has given me back that Satan has taken from me.

[00:19:42] And I know and believe in my heart that God is a good God.

[00:19:50] And every time I see John, that's a reminder that God is good.

[00:19:56] You know, I think that God is a good thing.

[00:19:58] You know, I think that God is good.

[00:19:59] You know, I think that God is good.

[00:20:00] And I think that God is good.

[00:20:00] And I think that God is good.

[00:20:00] You know, in your previous podcast, you know, I still believe that you have something to share.

[00:20:09] I know when you had just gotten to Karis and you said you had just been there a month.

[00:20:15] And all of a sudden you heard that your husband was was was down.

[00:20:20] And I'm sitting there thinking, I mean, Judy and I were just there.

[00:20:24] I mean, it's been a year and a half.

[00:20:25] But I mean, we were there.

[00:20:26] We've been in your shoes.

[00:20:28] We've been there.

[00:20:28] We know what it's like to have that break.

[00:20:30] And then you said you went and you were you were doing service hours.

[00:20:34] You were working like, you know, whatever.

[00:20:36] And all of a sudden you got this news.

[00:20:39] If you would just share just a moment again.

[00:20:42] You know, what was your emotional thoughts going through knowing that God is good?

[00:20:47] And yet how in the world could this happen?

[00:20:49] Yeah.

[00:20:51] So when they first came and told me that Chris had collapsed in the aisle, I really they started out by asking me, does he have any health problems?

[00:21:02] And I said, no.

[00:21:03] He said, are you sure?

[00:21:04] I said, well, of course I'm sure.

[00:21:06] And then they told me that he had collapsed.

[00:21:08] And I was just shocked because he was healthy.

[00:21:12] He wasn't overweight.

[00:21:13] We ate well.

[00:21:14] I mean, he was healthy.

[00:21:17] And, you know, I went in there to the auditorium.

[00:21:19] He was laying in the aisle.

[00:21:20] And I realized, oh my gosh, they're correct.

[00:21:26] And so I'm thinking in my head, well, surely we'll just pray over him and we can just bring him back to life.

[00:21:32] You know, because your faith is strong.

[00:21:36] And I truly believe that.

[00:21:40] And we did.

[00:21:41] We tried praying.

[00:21:42] The whole school had to leave the auditorium.

[00:21:44] And they had gathered in all parts of the school and everyone was praying for Chris.

[00:21:49] You know.

[00:21:51] But Greg Moore, he actually came to the emergency room where they had taken Chris.

[00:21:58] And he prayed over Chris for a little while, too.

[00:22:01] And he looked at me and he said, well, you know, it's hard to bring a Christian back once they see heaven.

[00:22:10] Why would they want to come back?

[00:22:13] And I thought, you know, that's a good point.

[00:22:16] It's such a good point.

[00:22:18] But there were three things, well, actually four things, that really helped me to get through that whole grief process.

[00:22:28] And one of them, that I knew where he was.

[00:22:33] I knew he was in heaven without a shadow of a doubt.

[00:22:36] And when you know where they are, that automatically gives you peace.

[00:22:40] And I knew that God didn't necessarily take him.

[00:22:43] But he sure did welcome him.

[00:22:45] Yeah.

[00:22:45] Right.

[00:22:46] So I knew where he was.

[00:22:48] Second of all, we had a good marriage.

[00:22:50] We didn't have a perfect marriage.

[00:22:52] But we had a really good marriage.

[00:22:55] And so I didn't have regrets.

[00:22:57] We told each other we loved each other.

[00:22:59] We hugged each other every day.

[00:23:00] We were affectionate towards each other.

[00:23:02] Respecting each other.

[00:23:03] And so I didn't have regrets of, oh my gosh, if only, if only, ugh.

[00:23:09] You know?

[00:23:10] Because, you know, I had those good moments with him.

[00:23:13] And another thing is not focusing on what I've lost, but focusing on what I have.

[00:23:26] So instead of focusing on the loss of this, you know, be focused on what you do have.

[00:23:32] Well, I have two beautiful daughters.

[00:23:33] I have six grandbabies.

[00:23:35] And I have a wonderful job.

[00:23:36] I'm going to a great school.

[00:23:38] I mean, you start counting your blessings.

[00:23:40] You start seeing all of the good that you have rather than what you don't have anymore.

[00:23:46] And so those are some of the things that really helped me get to the grief.

[00:23:52] And then, of course, knowing without a shadow of doubt that God didn't do it.

[00:23:56] You know, God has good plans for us.

[00:23:59] He says that over and over in Scripture, that he is a God of love.

[00:24:03] He is a God of goodness.

[00:24:05] And he wants good for us.

[00:24:08] He wants a long life for us.

[00:24:10] He wants us to prosper.

[00:24:11] You know, he has good thoughts towards us.

[00:24:14] And so he didn't purposely just one day say, huh, I'm just going to take him.

[00:24:19] Or, you know, whatever.

[00:24:21] He didn't do that.

[00:24:22] Knowing that God wasn't responsible also helped me to not blame God and go through a huge anger, you know, spell toward God.

[00:24:36] Wow, that's really good.

[00:24:38] John, I'm going to transition to you.

[00:24:40] It says the first time, you know, you were a pastor for 32 years.

[00:24:45] And that in itself is an accomplishment.

[00:24:48] You were a pastor over four different churches.

[00:24:51] But one of the things you said in your previous podcast, I really, I wrote it down.

[00:24:56] I earmarked it.

[00:24:57] And it said, I learned as a pastor is that I don't have all the answers.

[00:25:03] Okay?

[00:25:04] And a lot of times as a pastor, people come to you and expect you always to have the answers.

[00:25:10] But what I really like is what you said next.

[00:25:13] First of all, you said just be there.

[00:25:16] And you found that a lot of people didn't really want you to give answers.

[00:25:21] They just wanted you to hear what they had to say.

[00:25:24] And then what you said is our responsibility is to help people find their identity in Christ.

[00:25:32] And I thought that was awesome.

[00:25:34] That is really what our desire is on earth, is we have a purpose, each one of us, that God has given each of us.

[00:25:41] If you would elaborate on that a little bit.

[00:25:44] And from your perspective, having been a pastor for 32 years, how do you get that home to people?

[00:25:53] Well, you know, it's kind of like what the Lord told Peter, you know, flesh and blood is not revealed as to you, but my Father who's in heaven.

[00:26:03] So it really comes through revelation, that identity.

[00:26:08] And I tell you, I've been really focusing here lately on this concept of a sonship, of being sons of God, all of us.

[00:26:19] And, you know, and it dawned on me when I read in Galatians where it says it's the Holy Spirit of God who who was crying, you know, for us to say, Abba, Father.

[00:26:33] And I looked up that word crying and it's not just a little.

[00:26:36] Oh, it's it's actually the word scream.

[00:26:39] So the Holy Spirit is screaming at us, you know, through all the difficulties, through all the different circumstances that that we go through in life.

[00:26:49] And we've got to hear him telling us whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

[00:26:55] So the Holy Spirit is one for me now.

[00:26:59] His main for me, his main goal or his main focus for us is to reveal who we are, our sonship in Christ.

[00:27:09] And and I think when we understand that, that that crisis don't identify us, our circumstances don't identify us, even even our calling.

[00:27:19] That that we have it.

[00:27:21] That's not that's what we do.

[00:27:24] But it's not necessarily who we are, who we are, our sons of God, that God loves so much.

[00:27:31] And I think sometimes when you're dealing with people going through through these crisis is all you can do is just point them to Jesus and show them how much God loves them.

[00:27:43] And I know they don't see that through the tears and through the heartache and the pain sometimes.

[00:27:48] But I think as ministers of the gospel, we need to show them there is good news in a bad world.

[00:27:56] And we definitely live in a bad world.

[00:27:58] Jesus said in this world, you will have tribulation.

[00:28:01] But he said, be of good cheer.

[00:28:03] I have overcome the world.

[00:28:05] And so if we are, you know, so many pastors and, you know, counselors and therapists and, you know, I know they're trained in techniques and trying to help people fix the problem or or get through it.

[00:28:19] But I think just as ministers of the gospel of grace, I think we just need to show people and through it all.

[00:28:26] God is first of all, God is for you, not against you.

[00:28:31] And you're still his son, no matter what, no matter what.

[00:28:35] You know, and that's good.

[00:28:36] And I'm going to make a, you know, piggyback off what Lisa said earlier, is that God is not only good, but he is only good.

[00:28:44] And he is good all the time.

[00:28:47] And that's what I think those are sticking points, John.

[00:28:51] I mean, elaborate on that, if you would, because I think people have a hard time believing that God is only good.

[00:29:00] So go ahead.

[00:29:01] Take it away.

[00:29:02] Yeah, there's a scripture.

[00:29:04] I can't remember.

[00:29:05] It's in Psalms, but it was David was speaking.

[00:29:08] And he says, he says, I would have fainted.

[00:29:11] He said, I would have given up if I had not believed in the goodness of God in the land of the living.

[00:29:19] And the fact is, Chris, her spouse, my wife, Donna, they're in the land of the living.

[00:29:26] You know, they're living the eternal life.

[00:29:29] And yes, we're still here.

[00:29:31] But it's our perspective of who God is.

[00:29:34] It's understanding, believing in that goodness, you know, that we're not going to give up.

[00:29:41] You know, we are not going to cave into the pressures of the world or our emotions.

[00:29:49] It says, well, you know, you have to in this situation, you have to act this way.

[00:29:55] You know, you have to be.

[00:29:57] Yes, there is a point of grief, but I've known people who have grieved their self to death, so to speak.

[00:30:04] You don't you have to act a certain way or have a negative emotion every time something happens.

[00:30:11] And again, it goes back to that default setting, doesn't it?

[00:30:15] Of the joy of the Lord is my strength.

[00:30:18] Right.

[00:30:18] And so I think that that's so important to understand that God's goodness is always there, even though we can't see it.

[00:30:29] But it but it's our belief in it that's going to get us through.

[00:30:32] You know what?

[00:30:34] I would like to insert something, too, real quick, because people misunderstand God's goodness.

[00:30:45] God is always good, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't discipline.

[00:30:50] It doesn't mean that he doesn't allow the consequences of our choices and our actions to come to us.

[00:30:59] And so just because we are being disciplined or just because we're suffering the consequences of our choices and actions in no way negates God's goodness.

[00:31:10] And I think people need to understand that just because something bad is happening to you or you're being disciplined or whatever.

[00:31:18] It doesn't mean that God is not good.

[00:31:21] He is still good and he still loves us.

[00:31:23] You know, I'm going to piggyback off of that because the Bible said God chastens whom he loves.

[00:31:29] And that goes along with what you just said.

[00:31:32] And I often talk about this on my daily podcast is God is going to speak to you.

[00:31:39] And if you're doing something wrong, he is going to let you know.

[00:31:44] And a lot of times, at least it's how we take correction.

[00:31:48] That is, I think, really what humility is all about.

[00:31:52] It's allowing your spouse or your best friend or your employer to tell you, you're missing it, buddy.

[00:32:01] You're missing it.

[00:32:02] And that's what sin is, missing the mark.

[00:32:06] Okay.

[00:32:06] And a lot of people don't see that, but it's missing the mark.

[00:32:10] It's like you're throwing darts.

[00:32:11] And if you sin, you miss that whole dartboard.

[00:32:14] You're just missing it.

[00:32:15] And there's arrogance in that, too.

[00:32:21] You know, not being able to be corrected.

[00:32:24] And that goes back to the whole, you know, Proverbs thing of being a fool.

[00:32:29] You know, if you're not being, you know, able to take correction and discipline and that kind of thing, you're arrogant.

[00:32:37] You're a fool.

[00:32:38] Okay.

[00:32:39] So I told you that this is going to be shorter than we did last time.

[00:32:43] So we are almost out of time.

[00:32:45] So Lisa, I'm going to allow you to go ahead and give a brief two-minute spiel on why people need to come to Jesus today.

[00:32:55] And then, John, I'd like for you to close us in a prayer.

[00:33:01] We live in a tough world.

[00:33:04] We live in a world where bad things happen to good people and to bad people to anybody.

[00:33:11] And people are constantly, constantly wondering why.

[00:33:18] What am I doing wrong?

[00:33:21] Why is this happening?

[00:33:24] And they're hurt.

[00:33:26] They're upset.

[00:33:27] They're upset.

[00:33:28] They're confused.

[00:33:28] And they're longing for love.

[00:33:33] And we as humans are not capable of loving unconditionally.

[00:33:38] We're just not.

[00:33:40] And so love is hard to find except in Jesus Christ.

[00:33:47] He loved us so much that he died in our place because he loved us.

[00:33:54] He loved us so much that in that death, we now can have eternal life in heaven.

[00:34:01] So no matter what happens in this world, no matter what circumstances we go through, no matter what questions we have, we can have peace.

[00:34:11] We can have joy.

[00:34:12] We can find love in the one whose very existence is love.

[00:34:19] And that's Jesus.

[00:34:20] And so if you are hungry for answers, if you're hungry for an unconditional love, someone to accept you as you are without condition, then you need to turn to Jesus because he is the only one who can do that.

[00:34:39] Okay.

[00:34:40] Thank you so much.

[00:34:41] And John, we only have about a minute.

[00:34:43] We actually are on the clock.

[00:34:45] If you would just give us a short prayer and then we'll close.

[00:34:50] Amen.

[00:34:50] So, Father, we just thank you for this podcast and thank you for my brother Bill and, Lord, being used by you.

[00:34:58] We just pray that whoever hears this message of the Holy Spirit will bring wisdom and revelation to their heart.

[00:35:04] The eyes of their understanding will be enlightened, that they will see how good you are.

[00:35:09] And, Lord, how much you love them through it all, Lord.

[00:35:13] We thank you for Jesus, for the finished work of the cross, for the resurrection and the peace and the joy that he brings to our life each and every day.

[00:35:21] In Jesus' name we pray.

[00:35:22] Amen.

[00:35:23] Amen.

[00:35:24] Thank you, John.

[00:35:25] Thank you, Lisa.

[00:35:26] And I'll see you guys by next about five months.

[00:35:29] I am going to close with a blessing.

[00:35:32] Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

[00:35:35] The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

[00:35:39] The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

[00:35:44] Friends, please join me again tomorrow as we further explore wisdom today.

[00:35:55] My bad.

[00:35:56] Amen.

[00:35:56] Amen.

[00:35:56] Amen.

[00:35:57] Amen.