WEBVTT - Developing A Tender Conscience | Joel Osteen 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:03.040 Are you ready to move your career forward? Make your 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.560 comeback with Purdue Global and get college credit for your work, school, life, 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:09.760 or military experiences. With these credits, you may have already 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:12.560 completed up to seventy five percent of your undergraduate degree. 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:14.720 You've worked hard to get where you are. It's time 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:16.880 to get the recognition you deserve and earn a degree 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:19.520 you'll be proud of, one that employers will trust and 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:21.799 respect when you take the next step in your life 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.960 and career. Make it count with Purdue Global produce online 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:29.600 university for working adults. Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.040 No one likes to talk about money. Am I saving enough? 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:35.120 Can I buy a house? Am I paying too much 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:37.879 in taxes? Will I be able to retire? What if 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:40.479 you could unlock insights about your finances in less than 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.000 five minutes, with a clear picture of where you stand 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:45.839 today and where your money can work harder. Now you 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.920 can visit Facet dot com to take the free quiz 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:53.560 and get your financial wellness score today. That's Facet dot com. 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:55.520 This ad is sponsored by Facet. Facet Wealth in Corporated 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:57.440 is an SEC registered investment advisor. This is not an 0:00:57.440 --> 0:00:59.440 offer to buy yourself security snor is it investment legal 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:00.640 or taxi by He'll. 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:02.800 Forget about the video game you gave him on his birthday. 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.000 Wow, thanks Grandpa, But. 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.200 He'll never forget how you invest it in his future 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:08.240 with the units stapp. 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:10.400 Wow, thanks Grandpa. 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:13.560 The unit stap makes it easy for grandparents and family 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.280 friends to give funds to a child's investment account for 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:18.720 a limited time. Download the uns stapp and use the 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:20.800 code I heeart fifty at sign up to receive a 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:23.319 fifty dollars bonus when you find your account. That's code 0:01:23.360 --> 0:01:26.320 iHeart fifty when you sign up at unest dot co 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.280 for a fifty dollars bonus. See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:33.000 Hi. This is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.080 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:39.000 the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:41.160 be a blessing and share it with a friend. We 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:56.240 appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. Well, 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:59.880 God bless you always a joy to come into your homes. 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.840 We love you, We know that God has good things 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:05.160 in store for you, and if you're ever in our area, 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:07.080 I hope you'll stop by and be a part of 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:08.079 one of our services. 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:10.240 I promise you will make you feel right at home. 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:12.360 I say it often, but these are the finest people 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:14.520 in all of Houston right here, so we'd love to 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:15.480 have you be apart. 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:16.440 Come out and join us sometime. 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.280 Thanks for tuning in today, and you know, I'd like 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:21.520 to get started with something funny each week. And of 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.600 course most of these jokes are not doctrinally correct, and 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:25.839 especially today. 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:27.240 It's just a joke just to make you laugh. 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.919 But anyway, a woman died and found herself standing at 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.880 the pearly gates. Peter said, you can't go in unless 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:35.160 you correctly spell a word. 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:37.840 What word? She asked? Any word, Peter replied. 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:41.280 So she spelled the word love l ovee, and Peter 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:43.919 welcomed her to heaven. He then asked her to take 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:47.119 his position. He instructed her to follow the same procedure 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.200 should anyone arrive. A few minutes later, the woman sees 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.240 her ex husband coming up. What are you doing here? 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:55.200 He said, I just had a heart attack. Did I'll 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:56.160 really make it to heaven? 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:56.799 Not yet? 0:02:56.840 --> 0:02:59.360 She said, You've got to correctly spell a word. What 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:04.320 word do you ask? After a long pause, she replied Czechoslovakia. 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:07.919 All right, hold up your Bible. Say it like you 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:08.880 mean it. Are you ready? 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:12.519 This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:15.680 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.320 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:22.360 taught the word of God. I boldly confessed. My mind 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.880 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:30.600 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:34.120 to talk to you today about developing a tender conscience. 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.320 The conscience is just like an alarm when you're about 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:41.240 to do something that's not beneficial or something. 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:42.480 That's going to get you into trouble. 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:45.760 All of a sudden, you're going to feel uncomfortable right 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:49.800 down in here. There's going to be an unrest and uneasiness. 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:53.920 That's God trying to warn you. Don't ignore that, don't 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:58.560 override that uneasiness. See, the conscience is like an inward monitor. 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.080 It's called the comp us of our souls. It helps 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:04.720 us to know what is right and what is wrong. 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:06.760 And one of the best friends you can ever have 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:10.240 is your own conscience. I like what Abraham Lincoln said. 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:13.880 He said, when my presidency is over, I may not 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.680 have one other friend on earth, but I will have 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:19.600 at least one friend, and that friend is on the 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:22.200 inside of me. He was saying, I'm going to listen 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:24.960 to my conscience. I'm going to heed what it's saying 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:28.160 to me. And really, there's no telling how much trouble 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.679 that we could avoid, how much heartache we could avoid, 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:34.680 if we'd simply pay more attention to what we're feeling. 0:04:34.360 --> 0:04:35.200 Right down in here. 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.240 I hear people say all the time, I know I 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.479 shouldn't do this, but I know I shouldn't say this, 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.640 but I know I shouldn't buy this. But see they 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:47.760 know what they should do. The alarm is going off. 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:51.719 They can feel that sense of disapproval. But the problem is, 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:55.760 many times we don't obey our conscience. The truth is 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.560 much of the trouble that we get ourselves into. If 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.040 we look back, we can see how God tried to 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.400 warn us again and again and again. Now, don't make 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:09.880 the mistake of overriding your conscience. Respect it, just like 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:12.960 you respect your boss, or you respect someone that has 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.400 authority over you. You wouldn't disobey them. We'll learn to treat 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:20.000 your conscience in the same way. That's God leading you 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:23.000 and trying to keep you out of trouble. How many 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.640 times have you been in a conversation with your spouse 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:28.400 and things get a little heated up and you can 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:31.560 feel yourself getting aggravated, ready to want to argue, and 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.240 all of a sudden, that check goes off. Something right 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:37.360 down in here says, let it go, drop it, bite 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:40.200 your tongue, walk away, keep the peace. Well, that's your 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:42.880 conscience trying to keep you out of trouble. That's God 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:45.720 trying to warn you. But too many times we just 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:47.960 ignore it and we do our own thing. We end 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:51.440 up having a big argument, getting all upset, ruining the 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:53.839 rest of the evening, And really it all could have 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:56.560 been avoided if we just paid attention to what our 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.800 conscience was trying to say to us. Friends, Learn to 0:05:59.839 --> 0:06:04.360 be He's sensitive. Stop when your conscience says stop. Quit 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:07.200 having to have the last word, men, Quit looking at 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:07.680 your wives. 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:10.120 Somebody said a. 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:13.400 Woman always has the last word in an argument. Anything 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:17.799 after that is a brand new argument. But pay attention 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:20.520 to what you're feeling right down in here. Don't ever 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:23.680 override your own conscience. This will spare you so much 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.680 heartache and pain. I know one time my father was 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.520 driving down the feeder Road about to get on the freeway. 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.279 He was in a big hurriys running late to this meeting, 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:34.960 and he was going well over the speed limit, and 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:37.039 just as he came up to this big curve in 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.720 the road, that alarm went off right down in here. 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:42.960 Something said to him, you better slow down. There's a 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:44.520 policeman around the corner. 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:45.799 And Daddy told. 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:48.760 How it was so distinct, he felt it so strongly, 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:51.000 but he was in that big hurry and he just 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.600 ignored it, didn't pay any attention. Well, sure enough, when 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:56.040 he got around the corner, there was a police officer 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.840 standing there holding his radar gun out, and he just 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.520 flagged my dad over. He came up to the window. 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:04.120 Daddy had a big smile on his face. He said, officer, 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:06.640 you're never gonna believe this, but God told me you 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:10.960 were up here. That officer looked at him like he 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:14.360 was from another planet. He took Daddy's license and went 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:16.120 to his car, and he came back a couple of 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:17.440 minutes later, and he's kind of. 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:18.120 Shaking his head. 0:07:18.320 --> 0:07:20.520 He said, listen here, preacher, I'm gonna let you go. 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:23.480 But the next time, God speaks to you. You better listen. 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.160 This friend of ours was a Methodist minister for many years, 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:33.200 and he told how one time he got pulled over 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:35.920 by the police, and he has a real big Southern 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:38.760 draw and he said, oh, officer, please don't give me 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.920 a ticket. I'm just a poor old preacher. The officer said, 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:44.040 I know that I heard you on television last Sunday. 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:49.840 My boy, it is don't override your own conscious when 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:53.760 you feel uncomfortable down in here, when you have that uneasiness, 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:56.240 just pull back and see what God is trying to 0:07:56.240 --> 0:07:58.880 say to you. You may be in the middle of 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.800 a conversation all of a sudden the alarm goes off, 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:03.880 and you know you need to button it up, or 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:05.280 you know you need to walk away. 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:06.200 Don't ignore that. 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.160 You may be just about to buy something, just about 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:11.800 to eat something, just about to make some plans, and 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:15.080 that check goes off right down in here will be sensitive. 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:18.320 If you'll learn to listen to your conscience, God will 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.080 keep you out of trouble. He'll even protect you from danger. 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:23.440 I remember this young man that used to do some 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.200 work for us. One day I saw him and it 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.240 looked like he had been in some type of accident. 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.040 His face was all bruised, he had these black eyes, 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:33.760 and he had some stitches on this arm. I said, man, 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:35.600 what in the world happened to you? Were you in 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:38.640 a wreck or something? And he began to explain how 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.640 on his way home from work he had gotten carjacked. 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:43.440 He'd stopped at this light and these. 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:45.400 Guys came and pulled him out of his car, and 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:47.160 he didn't have a wallet, and so they just ended 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:48.640 up beating him up and leaving him there. 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:50.720 Then he said something so interesting. 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:53.720 He said, you know, Joel, the funny thing was on 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:57.040 my way home that night, something told me to not 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:00.480 go that way. Right down in here, as this distinct 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.080 as it could be, he said, something said you better 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:05.800 go another way. And it was so strong that he 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.600 even debated it in his mind. He thought, I always 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:11.040 go this way. This is the quickest way. Why should 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.840 I go another way? And understand, this young man was 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:16.320 not what you'd consider to be a religious type person, 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:18.880 but he said, I know that was God trying to 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.320 warn me. I know that was God trying to protect me. 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:24.360 These were his exact words, he said, Joel, if I 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:28.199 had only just listened, and really, that's what I'm saying 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:31.439 to all of us today, before you get into trouble, 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.560 before you make a poor decision, God is always going 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:37.080 to warn you that alarm is going to go off 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:40.120 right down in here. It may not be something as 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:41.720 dramatic as this young man. 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.040 It may just be an alarm. 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.680 To keep your mouth closed in order to avoid an argument. 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:49.880 It may be an alarmed to turn off the TV to 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:52.640 keep your mind pure, or an alarm to just change 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:56.520 your attitude. But whatever it is, if you'll be sensitive 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:58.920 and pay attention to it, then God will lead you. 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:01.480 Don't be like this young man and try to figure 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.079 it all out. Well, why can't I go that way? 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:06.800 Or why can't I say this? She started it. It's 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.120 her fault. Now you've got to get out of your 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.800 head and start listening to your heart. If you will 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.280 obey what you're feeling down in here, if you'll obey 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:16.480 your conscience, God will help you to. 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:17.440 Make good decisions. 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:21.480 He'll help you live his abundant life and understand just 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:25.120 because somebody else is doing something doesn't mean it's. 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:26.040 Okay for you to do it. 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:29.040 Well, Joel, all my friends are going to see this movie, 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:30.440 and they're good people. 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:31.640 They love God. 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.240 I don't know why I shouldn't go No, don't compare 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:37.640 yourself to anybody else, and don't try to have to 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.520 justify your actions. You've got to learn to listen to 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.920 your own heart. If you have that uneasiness down in here, 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.360 if your conscience is not clear, it doesn't matter what 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:51.080 everybody else is doing. Follow how God is leading you. 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.360 Every person is at different stages. You're not always going 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:58.520 to understand why you can or can't do certain things, 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:00.720 but you've got to go deeper than that and be 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.920 obedient anyway. I know some pastor friends that do certain 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:06.559 things that I don't feel comfortable with. 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:08.800 It's not a sin, but it's just. 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:11.280 Something that personally, right down in here I don't feel 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:14.440 good about. Doesn't mean they're bad people. I don't judge 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:17.360 them and condemn them, but I know just because they 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:17.959 do it. 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:20.400 Doesn't mean that it's right for me. I've learned I've 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:21.880 got to keep my own conscience clear. 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:24.600 And in the same way, ladies, you may have some 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.119 friends at work that dress. 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:28.400 A little more revealing than you do. 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:31.880 Maybe they're even in a position of leadership, and you 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.000 kind of think, well, I guess that's okay for me. 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.319 Now you've got to check with your own heart. God 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:41.240 deals with us individually. You don't know all the details 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:42.319 in that person's life. 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:43.280 Who knows. 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:46.120 Maybe God is speaking to them but they're not listening, 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:49.640 or maybe they've come a long way. They're making progress. 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:52.520 God is pleased, but you're just at a different stage. 0:11:52.920 --> 0:11:55.679 If you make the mistake of comparing, and you have 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:59.360 to justify your actions, before long, you'll be going against 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.200 your content and that will always keep you from God's best. 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.760 And don't make excuses. Well, everybody speeds out there on 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:08.880 the highway, Joel. I saw him going seventy five miles 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:12.600 an hour, and he's even on staff at Lakewood. Now, 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:18.160 just because you saw my brother Paul speeding, just because 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:20.640 somebody else is doing it doesn't mean that it's okay 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.360 for you. Keep your own conscience clear. And there may 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.679 even be things that your husband or wife or your 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:29.880 good friend does and it doesn't bother them a bit, 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:32.000 but when you go to do it, it just doesn't 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:34.560 feel right. You have that check or what I'm saying 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:38.080 is only do what is right for you. And something 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.480 else that's important to understand. Don't judge that other person 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:45.559 don't condemn them. Let God deal with them. Well, I 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.840 can't believe you went to see that movie. I can't 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:49.760 believe you don't get up and pray every morning like 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:52.440 I do. No, maybe they're not at that level, and 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:56.000 God didn't call us to be somebody else's conscience. Quit 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:59.040 judging and just focus on keeping your own conscience clear. 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.280 Telling how much God would bless us, no telling how 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.800 happy and fulfilled our lives would be if we simply 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:09.720 learn to maintain a clear conscience, if we just learn 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.480 to not move forward when we feel that sense of 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:15.680 disapproval down in here. And it may not be something big, 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.760 it may just be something small. But if we can't 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.440 be faithful in the little things, how can God trust 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.760 us in the big things. If we can't keep our 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.720 mouth closed to avoid an argument, or if we can't 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:30.040 slow down on the freeway when our conscience is convicting us, 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:34.280 then those seemingly small things will keep us from rising higher. 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:38.200 And what's interesting is, most of the time, deep down 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:41.120 in here, we know what we should do, but too 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:44.319 often we just make the mistake of not doing it. 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:48.640 And what's happening is we're overriding our consciences. And understand. 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:52.160 Every time you ignore your conscience, every time you push 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:55.040 it down, you don't pay any attention. The next time 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:58.160 that voice will speak a little softer, then the next 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:02.559 time a little softer, next time even more softly, And unfortunately, 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:05.000 you can get to the place where you have totally 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:06.960 drowned out the voice of your conscience. 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:08.960 For instance, maybe. 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.400 You're about to say something rude to someone and all 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:13.640 of a sudden, that check goes off right down in here. 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:17.000 You feel that uneasiness and something tells you bite your tongue, 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:20.240 don't do it. But if you just ignore that, you 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:21.720 override it and do it anyway. 0:14:22.280 --> 0:14:23.720 Number One, you're gonna feel guilty. 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.000 And if you don't go back and make things right 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:29.480 and apologize, then the next time you're in that situation, 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:33.040 the alarm won't be quite as loud, the voice won't 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.600 be quite so strong, And you can get to the 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:39.200 place where you've done it so long you become desensitized 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:41.160 to it. You can come to the point where you're 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:43.760 acting a certain way or treating the people a certain way, 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:46.800 and even though it's not right, you don't even realize 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:49.120 that you're doing it. And you may be here today 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.960 and you're kind of hard and rude with people, and 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.120 you've been that way so long. You're so set in 0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:57.400 your ways you don't really hear the alarm anymore. Or 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:00.920 maybe you've been watching questionable things so long that it 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:03.800 doesn't bother you much anymore. And that's why we need 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:06.960 to pray every single day. God, help me to develop 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:10.360 a tender conscience. God, help me to be sensitive to 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.160 your voice. I don't know about you, but I don't 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:15.960 want to have areas in my life where I'm stuck 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:20.240 in mediocrity all because I'm not obeying my conscience. The 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.760 Bible talks about in One Timothy chapter four, how a 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:28.160 conscience can become seared. That simply means that it becomes 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.240 numb in that area. We don't have any feeling in it. 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:34.680 Say you're at home watching TV one night, and you know, 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:36.720 it kind of gets a little bit vulgar, kind of 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:38.880 gets a little off color, and all of a sudden, 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:42.120 that alarm goes off. Something says, get up, turn it off. 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:44.480 Don't put that trash in your mind. But if you 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.280 just sit there time after time and ignore it, month 0:15:47.320 --> 0:15:50.960 after month before long, that won't bother you anymore. You 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.680 become numb to that. It's like, it's no big deal. 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:55.680 You know, what's it gonna hurt to watch this stuff. 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.760 I know people today that are involved in a relationship 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:02.880 out side of their marriage. They're not being faithful and 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:06.200 it really doesn't even bother them too much. And I 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.840 can assure you when they first started to give into 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.120 that temptation, the alarm went off, I can guarantee you 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:16.280 at first they felt uncomfortable down in here. They were uneasy, 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:19.360 they knew it wasn't right. But month after month, as 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.480 they turned the alarm off, now. 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:22.120 It's no big deal. 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:26.160 They've sort of justified it in their mind. Everybody's doing it. See, 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:29.120 they've totally drowned out the voice of their conscience. They 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.840 pushed it down so much they don't feel the uneasiness anymore. 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:36.360 And that's why I encourages so strongly to be quick 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:39.520 to obey, don't be hard headed, don't be stubborn and 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:41.840 have to do it your own way. That will only 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:44.640 lead to heartache and pain. I met a man a 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:48.320 few weeks ago. His family lives in another country and 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:51.400 he's been here in the States for several years working 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:53.800 with his company, and he began to tell how he 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:56.400 was involved with this other woman and they had been 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.000 in this relationship for a couple of years, but he 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:00.440 felt so badly about it. 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:03.400 He said, Joel, I just feel terrible. I know that 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:04.200 it's not right. 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:06.480 I can hardly sleep at night, and I really want 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:08.520 to change, but I just can't seem to do it. 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.200 And I told him, you're in a very interesting situation. 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:16.240 You are the exception to the rule, because most people 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:19.840 that have been overriding their consciences that long don't care 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.919 anything about it. They don't feel anything, they're not concerned. 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.880 And I said, you should thank God that you still 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:27.119 have a tender conscience. 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.280 You should be grateful that you still have that concern. 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:32.280 And I challenged him. 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.640 To do his best to make the necessary changes before 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.840 that uneasiness war off. And really, that's the danger, that's 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:42.720 what should concern us more than anything, that we're doing 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.680 something wrong for so long that we don't even realize 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:48.439 that we're doing it. We become numb in that area. 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:50.440 And again, I think that's why we need to pray 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:54.440 every day. God help me to stay sensitive to your voice. God, 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:56.840 don't let me to get hard and cold and numb. 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.680 In any area of my life, in my attitude and 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.320 how I treat people, and what I say and what 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:04.639 I do and what I watch. God help me to 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:09.600 have a tender conscience. Friends, God rewards obedience. If you 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.639 have things in your life, big or small, that you 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.280 know in here are not right, I believe God is 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:18.280 saying today is the time to make changes. Get into 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:22.679 God's best path. Don't keep overriding your conscience. Some of 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.040 you have been pushing that alarm down for a long time. 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:28.480 When you have ten or fifteen years of doing something 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.840 a certain way, it's very easy to just want to 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.719 stay right where you are. If you will be open 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:37.280 and honest with yourself, and when you feel God convicting 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:40.040 you in here, if you have the desire to change, 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:42.760 God will help you to change. And it is better 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:45.560 to go through a little pain of change than it 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:48.600 is to go twenty or thirty years stuck in mediocrity. 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:52.240 And I found the more obedient we are, the easier 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:57.159 it will be to obey. Obedience breeds obedience. Just the 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:01.720 opposite is true. Disobedience breeds more obedience. And you can 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:05.720 increase the sensitivity of your conscience, or you can decrease it. 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.440