Check Your Hearts

I mentioned that Mr. Shady wrote in his letter, my President's letter, that we should check our hearts. It comes about the latter chapters of Isaiah, that God will teach the nations.

It talks about keeping, in case you haven't read it, it talks about coming up and keeping the holy days. And if we think about the meaning, how inspiring it is, how much it lifts you up, just if you just think through what each one of them means, it has to just lift a person up to consider what we're actually a part of and what's really going on.

And then he said, in getting ready, he said, set your heart to be sure you are committed to it. Develop the faith, hope, and trust in you. You must have, and we will have those who are put into this kingdom. That's why he's building into each one of us and building up his calling. And he covers one of the seven. So, I was thinking about this. I've been thinking for a while about several religious things. So, it just struck me quite an excellent post this is to the whole day. We, of course, are going to hear specifics mentioned about the Niziad and Touliad. And each one there is so much to say about it. It's going to be a separate eighth, probably. We don't know very much about it. That's an extensive of the others, so we know a lot from that standpoint. But, we can contrast this, that is, examining your attitude and your whole heart and your commitment to God in His way, the overview, as it starts to get you ready. We usually value the details. We work hard to prepare for the physical aspects. Of course, we have to. We have to get rid of the feast, if you're going to do that. There's a lot of preparation there. And we tend to neglect the spiritual side because we get tireder and tireder over the last month that we're getting ready. And we do not pray as well, and it's harder to concentrate, and we're getting more and more worried about the stuff we've not done, and so on. But the attitude and the orientation, the attitude and the orientation to the annual status, the whole plan, are important in Bible to our success in keeping God's polity of seasons. That's the first thing. So many times, we kind of skip over that and look at the specifics. So, the idea of this sermon, the thesis, is that the Bible tells us a lot about checking and examining our own hearts. Then both Testaments really concentrates on that in the New Testament. In one sense, life is a long-running, lifelong, continuous examination of our motivations, our drives, the things that push us to the decisions we make, the weaknesses we have, the strengths we have, the shortcomings, and pretty much the whole thing. It's a self-examination in comparison to Jesus Christ. This is supposed to be just going on all the time. And so, it's just interesting that we have to be reminded of this so often. We have the weekly Sabbath, we have the annual holidays, same messages every year, same ideas. We just have to be reminded. And I thought, as Mr. Herridge was mentioning here a long ago, this idea of trying to find a new savior. Excellent point. I've thought about it that way and in a broader way as well. And I actually think about this point a lot in my life. But did I all fear a new story? And I'll be perturbed about it. There is so much ridiculous insanity going on. It's worse than usual bad news. But now it's insanity.

And I automatically go to this. What I would do, I would do this. I'd stop that and I'd get those guys going. I'd change this. And then I've learned pretty quick on this, say, hold it, you're doing it again. You know, the idea is, man, can't do it. God has to do it. He has to be the one to fix things. I can't. I would. I'm sure, if I didn't think about all that I know about my relationship with God and His plan, I would just jump in there if I got the opportunity and fix things real fast. But if I fixed a little problem, which would be questionable, you cannot rule a people, a nation, this is our spiritual, the angel. You cannot rule in a peaceful kingdom without having everybody's cooperation. And this, I didn't believe this for a long time.

But I see it now. It said, how does it say it? It said it in several ways, but the power to rule comes from the people, right? We've been taught that because of, we believe in democracy and part of God's truth. The power to rule because they refuse, you can't rule. And so I said, that's not true because God's all-powerful in this mess. And then we thought it through, some years later, I guess, didn't think about it much. In fact, that's why God is taking so long. He can fix it real quick. He can fix it currently. So we always agreed with Him. And then we'd be a bunch of robots. No fun. No real life. So He has such high aspirations for us. He has to have everybody's absolute buy-in. Because this total all-in for God's way of doing it, and that is painful. Takes years and years. It's hard to learn. You have to learn it almost every day and be reminded. It's not my way to stand fixed ends. I don't even want my way. I always mess things up and you see that for all of the many times. So anyway, the idea of examining our hearts before the Holy Days is absolutely excellent. So we can try all the time to overcome sin in every way of omission and commission. You can try to do the right thing. This life is the life of a converted person. It includes a continual focus analysis of self in comparison with Jesus Christ.

And getting our attitude and a whole orientation of things aligned with God's attitude in spirit is absolutely vital for every step we take. So that's the thesis, if you would call it that. A specific purpose statement of this sermon is, I'd like to go review some basic instruction that you self-check. Self-checking one's heart. Follow through the Bible, the Bible is live, being covered. Some basics on that. And then some specifics about the essential tool of prayer and its process. I've been finding this is kind of a sermon on prayer. There's so much to say about that, too. This strikes me as just the right thing at the right time. So basic instructions on checking your heart, which is very, very insightful, I thought, to see that checking your heart in terms of your commitment to God's personal commitment to God is a key thing. So we'll proceed with that. Proverbs 4, 23, Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of what?

A couple of other translations are worthwhile. And here, because just the English translation isn't...and that's the way Hebrew is translated directly, but there are meanings behind the words. Anyway, good news by the way. Be careful how you think your life is shaped by your thoughts. It's very, very good point. Life is shaped by your thoughts, so really take care of how you let yourself stay. And the idea of getting started on the right time is very, very important.

If you recognize something quickly, you're going off on a rabbit trail, or getting a bad attitude, resentful, or maybe accusing you, or disapproving, whatever else, maybe just vain, benefit you, to get my way, whatever.

When you recognize that you're off on a rabbit trail off of the path of righteousness, then stop that thought quickly.

I...uh...he...or else just start thinking about something else. Think on these things.

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is the good and the good of the Lord, it's the meaning of praise.

Uh...which means, rich you are any praise, think on these things.

I've slid this for you. So I've memorized my sevens. I think that's all done. So sometimes if I can't just say something else on that list, because there are a million things to figure out, sometimes others go back and review that list, or the others, lose them from above. So the points just just lays out how to handle your lives and those others without admission. The ladder of virtue and so on. So be really careful what you think and don't let yourself wander off. And that is the proverb here. Your life is shaped by your thoughts. Okay, the New New Testament, useful. Darn your heart above all else. This is implying in Hebrew, but just the status to this bit has garnered your heart above all else.

For it determines the course of your life. Big things are what you think in a small way, especially when you're young, as a priest. The same thing you've done right in a household is so important. That's not a priority for this society, it seems. But the garden of heart above all else, where it determines the course your whole life will take. And there's one other that I don't have. I just said poem, it's the Phillips translation, which isn't used much anymore.

It's got some big problems in certain areas, but it's got some really good insights.

And I just, that may be just been testing though. So there's one that says, guard your passions with all diligence. And so it's what you want, what your heart wants.

And because it just controls everything, your heart drives everything. Everything you think, everything you decide, everything you take action. If your heart does not well, you will not display, or you will be on display to your actions. If your heart is focused on the right thing, by your continual action and diligence, it will lead to God's blessings, and you'll be stronger and stronger, and you'll have some spiritual riches, and things that are really valuable.

The ability to think what you choose to think, instead of what you're distracted by, and thinking about those things, the ability to have that kind of focus, man doesn't have. You get distracted. So if you guard your passions, what you want, you focus your life. That's why you meditate on God's laws day and night. I used to think, how could you do that? When you're thinking about not what the law says, I'll shout and do something. You're thinking about how it all works, and how God is putting together, and how it makes so much sense.

So your heart drives everything, and we need to guard our hearts, and guard our passions, and in other words, check our heart constantly. You don't need such a good time. If it's any time, it's a good time to consider this. Here's a list of questions, a spiritual heart check from the internet. Now there are gillions, nice round numbers. A lot of stuff, because there's a lot of actually good study material on the internet, and you can find many questions that are really useful. Some a little questionable, but a lot, and just google it.

You know, check my heart, or heart health, and all these different, let's say, many different ways of saying it, but you can get that, and so many other. The internet is just terrific. Sometimes it's concordance, which is a huge time saver, is way too slow. Go right to google, and we got 15 translations. So things are getting too fast to keep up. Okay, questions?

You can dress yourself as to whether it's a good question.

Am I relying on Jesus alone to get into heaven?

It's fun. Sort of that. Listen first. If we took out the, let's say, the implications of that, it would be just great. That's a good question. Am I, because the way we're going to, quote, get to heaven is God is going to bring heaven to earth, so it's timing and circumstances and so on, but not a bad question. Am I allowing, am I just relying on Christ alone, or am I trying to always do that? I find myself, I'm trying to figure out what I can, how I can do it, how I can fix this and that, and then, oh, dum, dum, dums. I should have asked instead of then. I asked.

And a lot of times, it didn't come until I asked. I might spend an hour and something in, could be two minutes if I had prayed. So I'm still learning that. I've been trying for a long time, and it's not very good. Do I, oh, I like this one. Do I tell the truth?

That's really amazing, but very big. You're going, do I gossip? Do I take the opportunity to indulge in a juicy fitness that comes along? Hey, so good, we just pass it right along. Placerable to gossip. And gossip really does work. Just give your tongue to the devil for a few seconds there, and it really works. It'll go cause harm in the end.

Isn't that just wretchedly awful? We have this desire to do bad stuff and say bad stuff.

You know, like they say with the newspapers, headlines, it just bleeds and leaves.

If there's blood involved in bad stuff, well, it'll be up on the front page.

So anyway, do I gossip? Do I... I didn't want to spend my whole sermon on these questions from the internet, by the way. So do I have a critical judgmental spirit? That's very good. Not because I mean to that person only, but do I have a whole spirit? Have I let myself fall into a critical attitude that's not from God? Do I care more what others think about me or what God thinks?

Very good. Addams to the thought of that.

There was maybe not a big problem. There was one of us problem.

We like to please our wives. And Mr. Kellert gave that example a few weeks ago, and he said, why is this in the Bible? How does this happen? Why do they have to do that? He said, men tend to compromise their conscience to please, especially their wife.

Men tend to do that in some ways more than women, but that's a hard one, so I'm not stepping through the deep leaves. In certain circumstances, that's true. Do I care what others think more about than God thinks of me? He said that. Do I worry rather than trust God?

By the way, I can trust that in just a minute, though. Am I kind towards others? And it goes on and on. I found a couple of hundred different websites, and they're good. And you could read those questions all day long, and finally, stop and say, maybe I better answer one of them and use it.

These are all good questions, and very useful. Many more, I thought. I mean, very useful, I thought. And many more on top of that, too. So much information is available, and it's recognized by the general of the Christian world. Proverbs chapter 1 through 10, you know, wisdom cries in the street. That's the introduction to the book, and it's about the southern wisdom cries in the street. You know, it's out there. It's all available. We know a lot of good to do, but we have time to concentrate, take time to concentrate on it, and it's just one of our problems in the physical world. It takes spiritual discernment and guidance from God, and we're impudent from God. He needs to be converted, and to be successful in the purpose for our lives. It takes God, and you guys. And we know that, excuse me for missing it from a millionth time, but we just have to keep being reminded of it constantly, because our nature is automatic. This is all one way, but you should go straight. You're going, okay, conversion of one spirit is not just trying to do one thing to solve or another, but conversion of one spirit gets to the basic thoughts and emotions and beliefs and drives and pulls of your heart and mind.

We thought about human nature, but also God's nature, this good and bad in the world.

And we have all kinds of influences that come into our mind. The Bible, well, I should say mind and heart, because I wanted to say it this way, the Bible doesn't differentiate between heart and mind and ego and all the ego and what the three did in the ego and they all do.

They find that the Bible doesn't even differentiate between heart and mind and any of the many, many things that men have compartmentalized or attempted to compartmentalize in our minds. Well, that wasn't your ego statement. That was your alter ego. No, that was really...

Well, I don't say this wrong instead of saying we have different emotions and such and motivations, but God simplifies it. The heart and the mind, the heart includes emotions and very well-meaning things, and the mind has to do with facts, information, and so on, and He doesn't divide that. It's just you, your heart. And so we can deal with whatever situations that come up without having to go through all kinds of analysis to use that. They always come down to do this, your behavior, and God will help you with the spiritual side of it, which includes emotions and everything else. That's really one of the... You think of all the blessings God has given us, just fabulous spiritual riches. That's one of the great ones. He makes it simple for us and doesn't complicate it. He just says it's you, and you have to deal with all the different pulls and yearnings and so on. So that's, like I said, one of the greatest of the blessings.

We have so many inputs into our thoughts, but in the end we choose what we want to do or think, and who we are and what we will become.

We have to take all this information, these pulls and pulls, attitudes, spirits, drives, hereditary things, our traits, education, how we grew up, all those things, just everything, and we have to simplify it by what? Comparing it to Christ and by creating it to God's law.

It simplifies it. It could be extremely and is complicated. It gets too complicated. You begin to have high rates of suicide. You begin to have craziness in the nation or the world, every group, and that's what we're having now. This happens. It's happened just repeatedly through history. When nations or empires have fallen, there's a long period of people basically going crazy. First definition of crazy, or think about it, is being able to discern the truth.

And I actually worked with a psychiatrist with one of the brethren who had schizophrenia, was converted and had the fight craziness, and he had to discern, okay, now, is this crazy, or is this real? To give you an example, you can tell easily on this one, this guy got out of his car, not the same man's that I'm feeling, but this man got out of his car in the parking lot, like usual, he had his word, and started going uncontrollable. This is when craziness ran around, didn't know what to do, because what he said, but the thing is, he was acting like a normal person, just like you would. If you saw about 25 or 30, six foot tall red spiders that were looking right at you, and you know, in green, you can tell in 10, and they were coming to kill you and eat you.

He got out of the car, and he looked around, there they were, his brain was playing tricks on him, and he started straightening and running and didn't know what, you know, whatever. And then he said, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Is this this thing is a six foot tall red spider? You know, there's a library going, no, we don't have that. So he looked around and, oh, that's right, his brain was playing a trick on him. This was one example of a agility, another agility.

When you, and his only hope was to figure out the truth, what is, what am I, what's really out there?

What can I look at that's actually weird? And, and that, and he was able to, there was a lot of years of therapy. The kind was a friend, but he's come a long ways. Everyone's from all, yes, you go back into the tank, you know, I said, just counseling and you get on top of this. This has, you know, it's, it's hard to, it's hard to recognize when your own brain, the screens, that sort of streets of training is to, for one though. Anyway, you have to get to the truth. That's the first thing. And if a society gets away, the farther it gets away from truth and reality, like there over a hundred genders now, well, that's a lot. That's not true. It's insanity.

There are still people who are saying that in these tests on television and so on.

And the critics depends on what depends on God, whether he will save the nation and let this and can't down this spirit. But there's a spirit in man. And then there is an attitude that comes to man from Satan. This downward trend in every human, you know, slip slide in the way, you know, silent. We just have this downward pull. We have to fight it and we cannot get the job done without God's help. So we simply have to look at what God says and recognize that truth is truth. And if we are able to humble ourselves before God, he will give us the recognition of truth. We try and try and try and then rely on God to save us as he creates this new creation, which we are. So I kind of went around the whole very first there a little bit. I hope it's useful to come to sanity. You have to have a consciousness that you can't do it with anything else.

So people think you're always going to admit something better than God has.

And it's not going to answer it. That's what communism is, you know, socialism. We can serve. But that's what democracy is. These tabulars are on this side of time. It's the same thing.

It's trying to figure out how to do it without God's help. So you can see why God says how much he agrees to. He loves. It's a joy to hear our prayers. He wants to hear changes. You can see quite a positive and wonderful gratitude, how much love he has for us. And it just helps to really expect mercy, as knowing surely mercy so follows in all the days of my life. I will go for it. We're in the house of life. Psalm 26, number six, last verse.

So we need basic concepts. Prove this through the foundations of everything good.

Read some of the scriptures on this subject of the communities. Give your heart a check. He's examining his heart. 2 Corinthians 5, 17, workforce or therefore.

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

Old things are tasked away. Behold, all things are become new.

It's the same thing. It's really serious. We said, let us think in our own image after our likeness. The image is first his character image. He climbed that and then she'll break. With our character, and they'll look like this too.

Was he truly then? Later when we're kidding around, Christ said, she called, I make all things new. That's kind of the beginning of the Bible at the very end of the Bible. So, that's what I'm saying. Chapter 22, if that was the thing, Genesis 1, or Genesis 2.

Now, we're controlling, actually, his making a new feature out of us.

So, we need basic concepts.

And that's what verse 17 here says, 2 Corinthians.

I should assume he's written.

So, other translations. Easy reading very, very. You should never trust them.

If they have names like easy reading written, never trust them to set doctrine. But sometimes they're really good.

It's a turning word. You know, a turn of the word. Just no nature.

E.R.B. I mean, when he knew what is in Christ, how does he dare you?

When is one who's in Christ?

It is a whole new world.

Old things are gone. Suddenly, everything's new.

Newry.

E.A.C., which is English standard.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Very similar to James.

Old pass away.

There are various other translations. I do that only.

It's really anything. I have never done a full study on it... Or even a study really.

I've thought about it. Then there is the one thing you are newing. Ask that! That's a good question. I can give you a couple of things. When we're resurrectors, we're not going to have human nature. If you're dating a couple of times, you're bad things, or cold or human nature. They'll be gone. And they start intimidating you to the gone stage when you're baptized, when they repent and change. That's where the rules. But women are resurrected. It just won't be there. So everybody says, be old, and the news comes. Be old has passed away. It's fully under resurrection. I can add it.

But what about anything? He's going to add to it. He does add to it. Or will completely add to the resurrection. How about all of these have their concern and loves for others in the heart? Or how about this? Do you not add it to you? How about this sentence? You know, the devil and any other animal can sing. You have a lot of voice like this. But they also have flutes and horns. And other things that I don't know. He talks about Satan. He made exceedingly good and musical things. He has the voice.

He has the voice. He has many voices. Are we going to be in God's family and say, boy, those lucky angels, they're not nearly as strong or powerful or brilliant as we are? They get the same better than we can. I propose the answer is no. He gave them part of his innate abilities. He's given us part. We're going to have new abilities, new abilities, and synchos. One sense that intrigues me is certain snakes, at their instant, not the same, so on.

They have little sensors here. Then they're somewhere around their eyes. And they are extremely sensitive and they can tell where prey is, but then they just see them. They see the incredible, whatever they see. And they know that they're by the heat signature of the commas, or whatever they're after. And that's something. Okay, how many other senses does God have that we just don't even have? If you don't have the capacity, you'd say, well, you have such and such, you would say, watch that.

You would say something like, I can't tell you. Expresses. Couldn't you have smarts? You don't understand that yet. So it's just inspiring to think about what God has for us, even though there's something I don't know. You know, the general idea. But the old has passed away and the new has come. We're in the process right now. When you come into this covenant relationship with God and Jesus Christ, that process starts. Matter of fact, the perfect thing... Well, I'm not going to do the matter. In fact, I have to get going.

Stay on time. Each one of us, you know, you can branch out of here. Notice that Bible study is sometimes so frustrating. Because I want that. I'll put that marker there. I'll check read this picture and come back. And it's actually a wonderful, fantastic thing.

So, God has a work that he is doing in each one of us. With the whole world and adding up all the individuals. But with each of us, he does it in our partnership. We are changing. But it's not by our own achievements as creators. They said last week or a couple weeks ago, we are the part not the clutter. We have a part in it. I want our hearts. We ought to apply it. Get on to another sentence here.

We have a part of...it just says two things, over and over and over. They obey God. And what he said. Many, many different iterations and variations of that. And he says, and don't sin. Don't disobey. Turn away. And many things. But those are two things. They just go all to the Gentiles. And why is that? Especially the general, the epistle. Just every other sentence, it seems like they're saying, this is not slow exaggeration. But end up sinned. And be sure that you don't disobey God. Make sure, as God mentioned sin, after having mentioned it all through the Gentiles.

But also Paul mentions that in Christ himself. It's just a constant thing. Those two things. So we have our part. And God requires us to examine our hearts. To see that we're on the right track. That we are committed to Him, to doing things His way.

Even when we don't want to. And vice versa. Not doing something we want to, because we want to please Him. That's what must be there. That must be there. Never mind. Okay, Philippians 2 verse 12. Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.

And here's the quote. You know it, of course. Work out your own salvation with fear and trouble. It's in the word. In bold letters, there's work for us to do. With great fear and trembling. Because we're working on such a great thing. So it would be such a great loss, and thinkables, to lose life. Lose out on the life of eternal life. But it's so great to look forward to it. And yes, we have His promise that He will do that.

Verse 13, for it is God which works in you both to will and to do as good places. Usually, I find that it's easier to decide to do something than it is to do it. Especially something good, something really big, something spiritually. I'm not feared on this, very down on this, and I'm going to have more patience. I'm going to work on that. Or prunes with them, whatever it is.

But the thing is, we need God's help, and it's certainly hard to make that a will or not. And then to, I guess, to lock in your will and determine that you will accomplish whatever it is.

And God helps us with that, and then He helps us to do it also.

So, the goal is to choose the good attitudes, the thoughts, the spirit, discern the spirit.

Sometimes there will be a crowd, or a public speaker or something, and there will be a whole spirit that comes over the top. Because the crowd is being worked, and the speaker has a particular thing he wants.

He wants to develop the entity, or the sympathy, or whatever. Think of some of the advertisements we have. One of the money to help the soldier. One of your heart is still gone to it. Or some speaker wants to build up for his impact. I hate you. Fire him up! And there's so many things that emotions the speakers can work on.

So we have to discern when a spirit comes along, no matter where it comes from, we have to discern, is that of God or of the building?

And then we have the buildings that lay inside the fall of God, and go on, follow the leader. Psalm 23 again.

The shepherd leaves them in the paths of righteousness.

We have to be looking toward the shepherd all the time. So our conversion has to do with our choices, and our choices change our direction and drive our course to life.

Choose the good, God will help.

Powerfully change you. It's a little brassy process, but... And sometimes you don't even realize until later, oh, I kind of have changed there. I'm, yeah, well, you know, that's wonderful.

My first thought wasn't such and such. It was to help. My whole orientation is I want to... and it's something that God has said. It's a slow process, but it continues. Even when all we're just trying to do is hang on and obey God.

And God, with this glacier effect, God is the glacier.

You don't just put up a stop sign and stop the glacier. You don't put claim in and push on the bottom of the glacier. You don't do anything. Man can't do anything to stop the glacier.

And God is the glacier at this point.

We do our part. He is changing us. He's creating us into what we want. And there's an aspect of this. We might come into the resurrection. It might occur to us, how do I know what's in it? You know, but we're the thought. And realize, oh, look at that.

I'm way different. I remember now. I was thinking totally opposite. I thought I was right.

I have been created a totally new creature. A creature of creations. So that's what's going on. It's good to see that God is just... He's the one that's doing this.

So I mentioned already the two great statements and themes throughout the Bible. And which one do you put first? Obey God.

Or do not sin. It's the opposite, which they just go together. You have to have both. I think with Adam didn't realize it, but God was saying, well, you can eat this and do that. And here's how you do something rather than...

And Adam just did what God told him. He was the leader. Adam was just brand new. And he named the animals for it. We'll use that as an example. We'll complain, well, I know what Adam says. I've got to say, well, he named the animals. He helped have a name. So, you know, that one's Bob. That's already taken care of. If anything, Bob will say, well, you know, most common word.

I forgot his name at a party. He circled around and met 25 other people. He came back around and thought, sorry, I forgot your name. He said, Bob, he says, if you had a good hint, if you ever have a problem, just say Bob. You're probably going to be right. So I have that from that Bob, that was in California. I'll have to ask Mr. Dalkedek if that's okay. That's not a stupid... I thought it was funny to just laugh and laugh at the point. But you didn't laugh, so I'll go on to the next... More answer to you.

He just named the animal. God told him who he did. But then there was another voice that came along. People got there, oh, I'm different. It's true. And you know the rest of the story. Okay, the great P to examine your heart is... What do you think? There's one huge P. I miss it in different ways, I guess. He used forceball. It's just having God's guidance. For the Word of God is quick. It means living, alive.

It's spending energy. It's quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Here's the image of dividing a center of soul and spirit. I was mentioning God doesn't do that. It's not your soul and your spirit. There's physical life and your spiritual life. But you either have life, you don't... So this is a metaphor. It means getting down to the very depths of your heart, your emotions, and your thinking about the facts of the body, everything together, your core. Getting right down into there and being able to discern your thoughts and intents. That's what it says here, the thoughts and intents of the heart. So we are given the opportunity to know what other people are thinking and their hood is. Just by looking at them and seeing straight through them. And we're all thankful for that. Because if I could see somebody else's, they could see mine. That gives us privacy. So as we're in training. So there is labor to get into as we ask verse 14 and 16, I mean. Quotes of 16 are really valuable on this, but that's the key.

The great key of the work of discerning what's in your heart, of checking your heart, Mr. Chady, said. I'd like to read quickly, 1 Peter 2.21. We're starting in 2.21. For even here in 2 were you called, with Peter 2.21, because try to also cover a forest, also a southern forest, leaving us an example, and you follow their steps. So he went to a great deal of suffering. To what? Obey God. He went to Father's sin. So that was really hard. Incidentally, not disobey the Father or any of his laws or his statements. Of course, he, thus himself, had stated those, not the sign, and so on. So they were his laws as well. But he suffered. He did no sin. He knew it was God found in his mouth. Sometimes not speaking up or having to hold your tongue is worse than being beaten, or a physical gash in your leg or something, an injury or pain. And then, 1 Corinthians 15. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again? When he was cast out, he didn't cuss out his back to them. When he suffered, he didn't threaten, but committed himself to him to judge his righteousness. I won't finish that well. 1 Corinthians 15. He mentions his suffering on the cross. Verse 25. For you were his sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and the bishop of your souls. See, by yourselves were his sheep. We just go astray all over the place. So, that was part one. The thesis ending up with the fact that we really have to have God's help in doing a self-examination, but that's what our whole Christian life is, a self-examination of our heart, of our intent, with our Savior, the Jesus Christ. We're doing that comparison. We always fall short, but that's our whole life. So, that's certainly a good thing to do as now is any day. Part two, comments about prayer. I didn't have a full sermon, but I had several things I wanted to mention, because they are, they're, they're terrifically go to examine your own self. And, listen, I've got to check the time. I can't quite see it, though, do I? Do you have that? Well, three minutes, 46 minutes, I'm going to steal. So, I'll take more than one minute, but not much. Prayer. First, prayer is like a saying. Prayer doesn't have to be messy, doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to get done. Prayer put off prayer, like in quite many ways. I've got to do that first and now. Prayer. Where I need to...something. It just has to get done. Sometimes you better off just to forget other things, the things that are pressing storms. And I said, I just stood up, I just have to get down to the office and call to be made all over the world and get people to write and talk to. And he said the same thing. I just have to set that off. I'm dealing with the same thing that I do. Just cut it off and go talk to God. And if I do that, I'll get something done on that day. Otherwise, I might waste the whole day. Or fiddle around or even use fiddle. Well, it's something I do. Prayer doesn't have to be fast. You just have to get it done. One way to analyze where is your real heart? Is am I praying? Or am I giving it five or ten minutes here and then never get back to it? This happens beyond itself. That's one of the keys about prayer that have to do with examining your heart.

Now, number two, God sets great story in what we do when we're in trouble. He always talks about, not always, but I do this from my own study. I've done this a few times, but all the time it's just in song that it talks about wishing he would have respect for those who come to him in trouble. So, what do you do when you get in trouble? That's a question. Do you run first to God or do you run elsewhere to solve a problem? Big, big thing. As a matter of fact, in one of these mistakes, I've been staying up for about 20 years and five scriptures on just coming to him in trouble.

In one of them, that's used not as a directive to do that, for he respects people who do that, but that's as a description of a person who God listens to who is one of his saints. They come to me in trouble. Who else does? Because those people that come to God have come to him all the time, and when the trouble comes, they don't believe it.

So we're all learning to do that, and maybe so. It's just pretty good. It improves. So, do you come to God when you're in trouble? The third point is to examine the substance of your prayer and what's in your prayer. I'm going back to Mr. Armstrong as one of my first teachers, and a man who had a lot of influence on me.

The lenders brought the truth to my family. And so I have a lot of his saying, listened to a lot of it. But he said, you know, you should put yourself last. Pray for the Word of God. Pray for the sick. Pray for others who are in trouble.

Pray for people who have trials, people who have unions, needs of the church. We haven't even gotten to some whole nation yet. Needs of the Word of God. And then, pray about yourself. It's a perspective that will multiply the effectiveness of your prayer for yourself.

By a number of times. We're going to do putting others first. And that's one of the guidelines. That's how God knows whose prayer to answer. If your enjangement is as chapter 4, why do you pray? And you know you want to pray and you don't receive? The answer is, first two, three verses. Because it's just a selfish prayer. Give me the other thing. And God just, you know, how do you handle it? He listens. You can see him saying, who the Lord will go?

Pretty soon he'll get to a prayer I can answer. Maybe he'll be answering somebody else. Instead of just him, I bless him so much. And there he is complaining. I don't think that does that. Thoughts are higher than ours, but he really knows everything. And so, Mr. Armstrong, just give a comment. Pray about everything else. And then pray for yourself. First of all, it'll probably be slower, because it'll be at the end of your prayer. You'll have to get on to something, you know. And there are these other things. And he gave a couple of examples.

He was praying very selfishly, and he said, oh, I realized it. So he just prayed about everybody else he could think of. He didn't need to know. And then he had to get on to something. Oh, you remember, I forgot. I was going to ask you, I forgot what it was, an overcoat or something. And then he had to run on and get to work. And it was cold out. And somebody gave an overcoat that day.

You might remember that story in the Autobiography. So just a personal story from him. It's just so true. Put yourself less, or at least not first, than you can expect. Be able to see yourself, examine yourself, and ask your heart. Check your heart. This one is something that I... I encourage you. This is CS Lewis, as a matter of fact. Here's a guideline prepared. Very well put. When you pray, tell God what is in your heart and your mind.

Not what's supposed to be there. That's the twist. So try to... If you're going to tell God, well, here's what I'm saying. You're thinking, David, we're all upset, because all these days they get in the head. They're not even trying to obey, and here I'm trying to obey, and you know, I'm at a tribals. So David, that was really a good prayer, because he was honest with God. He was checking his heart. Psalm 73, if you want to read. There are four stages to it.

He was checking his heart, and that's what we need to do. We need to be experts at checking our heart. That's one of the big things, necessary things. So, tell God, when you pray, tell God what is in your heart and mind, not what should be there. So, I just had those four things to mention. They're, I think, profound and can be very helpful. I thought it was very structural, insightful part of me, for Shady to instruct us to check our hearts as a part of our preparation. Of course, but specifically, your orientation, your attitude towards God and their commitment to Him. That's the big thing. And then we can get ready, and we'll have our holidays, which will be so much better. And they'll be simplified, blessed, because we're not going to be going into it just glorifying Himself. So, I thought that was wonderful. We're going to be studying a lot of details about the four holidays. It begins one week from today, amazingly. Their orientation toward God is vital for our success in keeping God's whole holidays this year. And in fulfilling our purpose for life, therefore, let us check our hearts.