Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:05 Welcome to Life Talks with Stephen Marshall.
Speaker 2 00:00:12 Make Room for God. The greatest deception is self-deception. That's when you become complicit in your own destruction. Proverbs 18 nine says that the person who does not use his endeavors to heal himself is brother to him who commits suicide. That's not making any room for God. You give him access when you apply his word. It's one thing to say you value wisdom, like wisdom and even prefer wisdom, but it's another thing to apply it. Belief, true belief requires corresponding action or you're just self deceived. In other words, you really don't believe what you say you do. You're lying to yourself. You don't have to be a brain surgeon with an Nostradamus inclination to no living in this state is going to turn out tragically. Paul warned Timothy in his second letter, chapter three, verse five, by saying quote, there are treacherous people, rash lovers of pleasure, who embrace a form of religion but reject the power and reality of the real thing.
Speaker 2 00:01:16 Avoid these people at all costs. End quote. Paul was saying, those who are okay with form but no power are dangerous traders of faith. It's like hiring a contractor to remodel your house, but nothing gets measured and nothing ever gets done. The same old funky kitchen. Now, the opposite is to measure yourself or as the Bible puts it in First Corinthians 1131, judge yourself, whatever you do, don't go getting religious here. It doesn't say condemn yourself. It's telling us to measure ourselves up against God's truth, his principles, and then apply his instruction accordingly. The word judge comes from the Hebrew word, Dan, which is represented by the word picture for doorway to life. So why does the word judge get such a bad rap? It's because when you ignore the doorway of life, the outcome is terribly bad. It's the opposite of life. The worldly culture has a habit of ignoring Dan, ignoring the doorway to life so they don't make room for life, and their tragic choices redefine their perception of Dan.
Speaker 2 00:02:30 When I was a boy, I longed to grow and get taller. I could think I was getting taller. Wish I was getting taller, and even have my mom say I was getting taller. But true measurement requires two things. The first is absolutes. You can't measure without a measuring tape that's calibrated to a standard. The second is your approach to the principle. I had to stop and back up to the wall where the tape was waiting for me. You can't get a true measurement by bending the the tape to you. You must stop and humble yourself to the measurement. That's when you know truth. What's the benefit of knowing truth in the light of judgment in the light of Dan? Well, that kind of knowledge will actually set you free. That's what Jesus said in John 8 32. He said, quote, you will know the truth end.
Speaker 2 00:03:19 Jesus didn't say, you will verbalize the truth and it will set you free. He didn't say, you will tell others about the truth and it will set you free. He really said, you will have intimate knowledge of the truth by humbling yourself in submitting to the absolutes of God's word with corresponding action, and that will set you free. Picture a little boy backing up to the straight edge of the wall, feet flat and true to the ground. The measuring tape extended from floor to just over his head. A life not measured continually is a trap waiting to happen. Carpenters have a proverb they work by that says, measure twice. Cut. Once every decision is like a cut to the raw resources that make up your life. It's an opportunity to multiply good or bad. What's your straight edge? What's your standard? Are you truly backing up and submitting yourself to the measurement or have you fallen into the trap of just measuring others?
Speaker 2 00:04:15 Jesus measured everything, the numbers of the crowd, the amount of bread and fish to initiate the miraculous feeding. The number of lepers healed and the number of lepers healed who were thankful He measured everything, make room for God. By taking the wisdom challenge, it will be impossible for your life to remain the same. They say what gets measured gets improved. There are quotient that are next to impossible to measure with worldly systems, but there is nothing that God cannot accurately weigh. That's why the wisdom of God is the pure standard for all life and living. Make room for God to do amazing things in your life today. Let's pray God's word. Heavenly Father, we invite the standard of your wisdom into our lives. We don't want to be self deceived and go through life moving in the wrong direction. Too often we found ourselves reframing a bad circumstance or outcome as being someone else's fault. We want to take responsibility now and know the truth, your truth, because that's what sets us free. We wanna make room for you. We're not interested in a form of religion only to turn around and reject your power. Show us your glory. We welcome your awesome power and life-changing love all in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Speaker 3 00:05:40 Thank you for taking time to listen to this life-changing podcast. This is Pam Marshall and we believe you're a big part of this ministry. Share this good news with others today by sharing this life talk podcast with a friend, a coworker, or a family member. And never forget, we love you. We're praying for you and in Christ, you are blessed.
