Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire. Here's what's coming
up in today's edition.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
The veil and the temple, separating the outer place from
the Holy of Holies was ripped in half top to bottom,
and God was saying, now, anyone who puts their faith
in my son can come into my presence like only
the high priest could do before. Because now the presidence
that was in the Temple and the Holy of Holies
(00:27):
is living in you and me. We are the house
of the Holy Spirit, the home of the Holy Ghost.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Amen, He lives inside of us.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Did you realize that you and I are very fortunate
to live in the time we live in. We have
access to information, literature, and entertainment of the touch of
a button. Friar generations had limited access to the things
that we take for granted now. But one of the
biggest things that you and I had access to now
is of the Holy spirited. That is something that people
(01:03):
did not have before Jesus died on the cross. Pastor
Jeff reminds you to use that power to your advantage
to help you overcome your flesh. Well, let's join Pastor
Jeff in the Book of Proverbs, chapter four, as he
begins his message, guard your gates, every one of us.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
If you're a Christian, you wake up to a tugle war.
Every day. You wake up to a tug of war.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
And the tug of war is between the spirit of
God within you and the flesh that is still in you,
still a part of you. The flesh is not the
skin that surrounds our skeleton. It's the fallen nature of
Adam that always wants what God doesn't want for us,
and what God does want for us the flesh doesn't want,
(01:48):
and what the flesh wants God doesn't want.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So we're in a tug of war.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
How many of you can say I've already had that
tug of war today? I can tell you I did.
When the alarm went off. I had a tear. Hey man,
My flesh didn't want to get up that early, and
it didn't last week either. But the spirit of God
wants me to get up and preach a minister and
shine and share Jesus.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
So we're in a tuggle war.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
It says, the spirit battles against the flesh, and the
flesh battles against the spirit, so that so often.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
We don't do what we want to do.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And so the Bible comes along and says, look, I've
got an answer for the struggle. Not that you're ever
going to be perfect, not you're ever going to be
totally sinless, because we all mess up, but I've got
an answer primarily fundamentally for you to have victory over
the flesh, and that is the spirit of God that
lives inside of you. It says, walk in the spirit
(02:47):
in you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
How many of you are tired of your flesh? Come on, man,
This week I made a mistake. I got Girl Scout cookies.
I went into the store, and you know, I was
walking into Albertson's and here's these little girls selling these cookies.
(03:08):
So you know, I had to bless the little girls.
So I grabbed some that were truly lethal. They're gram
I'm gonna make you hungry. I don't want to lose
you now, but they're gram crackers covered in chocolate with
some caramel in it. And those things talk to me
(03:29):
every time I went by my refrigerator, and I knew
I didn't need to eat as many as I did.
And then I got the mint chocolate covered ones now
I see the rest of you.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
You're in bondage like me. To those girls got.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
And so I said, here's sweetie, and I bought quite
a few, and I took them home and I told Cindy,
I said look when I got and she was blessed too.
So all week long I battled. Those girls got cookies.
And my flesh said, go ahead and eat if you
you deserve a break today, you've been working hard. You'll
(04:05):
go ride it off. You can eat five, six of
them at a time.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Come on, just one more.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
But the spirit of God said in me, moderation is
the key. But see I battle. Now that's just an example,
but there's many battles that are even way more.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Serious than that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
And let me read now out of Proverbs for twenty
three to twenty seven, because I want to talk to
you about guarding your gates. Guard your gates, the Bible says,
guard your heart above all else, because it determines the
course of your life. Now here comes some gates. Avoid
(04:42):
all perverse talk, Stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight
ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Mark out a straight path for your feet. Stay on
the safe pathet. It's sidetracked, keep your feet from following evil.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Let's pray.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Father, I thank you for the word of God today,
and I thank you that you have given us gates
to guard. And Lord, if we guard, then we'll walk
in the spirit. And I pray in Jesus' name that
you will speak to us, Minister to us, God, not
just hear.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
For those watching by.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Home, who we welcome right now, and Lord, I pray
that you will touch them in their living room and
touch us here in this sanctuary. And Lord, establish your
word in our heart and bring us to the place. Lord,
we are successfully walking daily in the spirit and not
in the flesh. In Jesus' name, I pray Amen. Now
(05:48):
this message kind of works both ways because I'm going
to talk to you about four gateways to your soul.
The Bible says guard your heart, but then it tells
us how to guard it. How do we guard our heart?
It tells us how to do it by mentioning four
gateways to our heart. And I'm gonna tell you what
they are. Here's what they are. The four gateways that
(06:10):
it mentions, the tongue gate, what you say, the ear gate,
what you hear, the eye gate, what you see the
feet gate. I couldn't think of a better way to
say it. So feet gate, I almost want to say watergate.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
But here we go. The feet gate where you go?
So there you go.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
The tongue gate what you say, The ear gate what
you hear, the eye gate what you see, and the
feet gate where you go. He tells us about He
mentions these four gateways to our soul, knowing that if
we can guard those gates, it will assure that we
walk with God and walk in the spirit and not
in the flesh.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So he deals with your eyes, your tongue, your ears,
and your feet. And in Bible days, we all know
that they had walls around the cities. They had a
wall around every city for protection, and then they had
gates in different parts of those walls. And those gates
were simply designed to let the right people in and
(07:15):
keep the wrong people out. That's what the gates were for.
Let what is good in and keep what is bad out.
That's the purpose of a gate. Now the Bible is
here telling us that the eye gate, the ear gate,
the tongue gate, the feet gate, those are gateways that
(07:37):
we either let what is good into our life or
what is wrong into our life. And we're to be
guards of those gates. Anybody hearing me today, We're to
be guards of these gates. And so I want to
talk about those gates today because because we want to
walk in the spirit, and I'm going to show you
(07:58):
that if we don't guard those gates, it makes it very,
very hard to walk in the Holy ghost. How many
of you want to walk in the spirit and not
in the flesh, amen? Because if we walk in the flesh,
the Bible says, it brings death, It brings spiritual death.
It breaks our relationship, our fellowship with God.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
And we're always.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Stumbling, always falling, always messing up, always doing what we
don't want to do, going where we shouldn't go, saying
what we shouldn't say. But if we learn to guard
the gates, then it assures and greatly strengthens our ability
to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So everybody says with me, guard your gate, guard your gates,
guard your gates. The Bible says that we're to make
it our aim in life not to grieve the Holy
Spirit that lives inside of us. They see you and
I are the house of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit lives in you. Now this week in my Bible,
(08:54):
said he, I've been reading about the Tabernacle. That's just
going through the Bible in a year, which I do
every year, and so I'm reading about the Tabernacle. And
God always made a place where his glory and his
presence would be manifested. In the Tabernacle and in the Temple,
there was a special place where the glory and presence
and chakaina of God would be manifested. And it was
(09:19):
a building, it was a construction. It was tabernacle, a
great big, huge tent, or it was that beautiful temple.
But now, as soon as Jesus came and died on
the cross and rose from the dead, God said, I'm
no longer going to dwell in a building, but I'm
going to dwell in you. I'm going to dwell in
my people. And that's why when Jesus gave up his
(09:43):
spirit and died, it says the veil and the temple
separating the outer place from the Holy of Holies was
ripped in half top to bottom. And God was saying,
now anyone who puts their faith in my son can
come into my presence like only the high what priest
could do before, because now the presence that was in
(10:05):
the Temple and the Holy of Holies is living in
you and me. We are the house of the Holy Spirit,
the home of the Holy Ghost.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
He lives inside of us, and so living inside of us,
he wants to lead us. He wants to guide us,
he wants to strengthen us, he wants are you ready,
He wants to control us. Because that's what being filled
with the Holy Spirit means. It means to be controlled
by the Holy Spirit, led by the Holy Spirit. Filled
(10:38):
with the Holy Spirit. Because here's the deal. We are
either going to be controlled by the flesh or controlled
by the Holy Spirit. There is no fence, there's no
in between place, there is no option. As a human being,
you have a choice either be controlled by the flesh
do what the flesh wants you to do, or controlled
(10:59):
by the Spirit. Filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit,
and do what he wants you to do.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
That's it. Now.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
The lost person has no choice because the lost person
doesn't have the Holy.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Spirit, so they must do what the flesh tells them
to do.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
But not the believer. The believer is the only person
on earth that has a choice. We can walk in
the spirit or walk in the flesh. So the Bible says,
walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the
lust of the flesh.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Hi, everybody, I'm pastor Jeff, and thank you so much
for listening to Hardwire. You know, everybody faces battles.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Life is a battle.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
I don't think a day goes by all of us
are not in some kind of a struggle with either
the world, the flesh, or the devil. Every Christian faces battles,
but we don't fight alone. In every Christian's battle is
my new series. We're going to discover how to overcome
with God's armor and to help you follow along with
the series, we want to get a devotional to you free.
(12:00):
All you've got to do is text battle to eight
one seven for eight four four seven sixty seven. That's
Battle eight one seven four eight four four seven sixty seven,
and we'll get that devotional that will strengthen and prepare
you for the fights you're facing.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Right to you. Now, let's get back to the message.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
So it says, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God with whom you receal for the day of redemption,
and so guarding the four gateways as crucial to walking
in the spirit, not grieving the spirit, and having victory
over the flesh.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
So I want to look at these one at a.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Time, these four gates, because we've all got these four gates.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
First of all, he says, guard your eyegate. Look what
the Bible says. He says, look straight ahead, and fix
your eyes on what lies before you. In other words,
a straight gaze prevents a wandering eye. He says, I
want you to fix your eyes ahead.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Now, I don't know how many of you go to
the fair.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
I go to the fair sometimes, and I remember last
time I went, we parked where we had to walk
right into the midway.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
The midway is insanity. The midway is crazy.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Because and I realized when I walked in that where
I wanted to go was on the other side of
the midway. And so I thought, now on either side
of me are carnival barkers, what we used to call
carnival barkers.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
And it's these people that are hired.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
To get you to come and play whatever it is
they're over, like shooting a bb gun to moving targets,
throwing a softball into increasingly smaller circle sizes. And if
you can get the softball into the middle circle, you
can win a great big stuff toy. Course they've got
it rigged where you can hardly ever win it. And
so on either side of you are these carnival barkers.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
And here you are. You're walking through the midway. Now.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
When I started last time, I started this way, I said, okay,
I want to get to the other side, but I
know I'm going to be harassed from here to there
by carnival barkers on each side. So I'm gonna have
to fix my gaze straight ahead. If I look at
them and they make eye contact with me or bring
me into conversation, I'm sunk. I've got to ignore them
(14:13):
because they're always trying to get your look at them
and get you into conversation.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Come on, you look like a big, strong guy. You
can do this. They stroke your ego, they lie to you.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So I remember, I set my gaze straight ahead, and
I said, I'm just gonna walk right past him, and
walking right down through that midway, millions of people everywhere,
just a pandemonium, chaos, and all these carnival barkers look here,
look there, play this, play that, try this, try that,
look at me, look over here, you can do it.
(14:47):
Try this, come on. And as I was walking through
that midway, I thought, this is exactly like the world,
because I'm trying to keep my eyes on Jesus each
and every day, and I've got carnival barkers, so to speak,
on a side the world calling to me. Try this,
try that, do this, do that, look here, look there.
But my Bible said, look straight ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
At what at Jesus, at the things of God.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I am to use my eyegate to look at focus
on the things of God.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Look straight ahead.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Fix your eyes, everybody say with me, look ahead, fix
your eyes, fix your gaze, fix your focus, because we're
all walking through the world, and on either side of
us are temptations constantly calling to us, and so we've
got to keep our eyes looking straight ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Fix your eyes straight ahead, over and over again.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
The Bible talks about the importance of your focus. It
says in Hebrews twelve two looking away. So I'm looking
away from the carnival barkers of life. I'm looking away
from the temptations, away from the allurements.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I'm looking away from all that will.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Distract us, and focusing our eyes primarily on Jesus, the
author and the finisher of our faith. Amen, I'm to
fix my gaze now. I like to call it the
eye of faith. My eye of faith is always turned
towards him. I don't look away from Jesus. On the inside.
(16:27):
I am walking with him, talking with him. Now, I've
got to focus on other things or I can't function
in life. But I have a primary focus, and that
focus is Jesus.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Jesus said, seek.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
First, everybody, say first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
So here's what it comes down to.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Who is on or what is on the throne of
your heart? Because all of us have a throne in
our heart where we crown something or someone king. Is
Jesus on the throne of our heart or is something else?
(17:07):
And that is the battle of the Christian life.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Every day that I.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Wake up, I get into the Word of God, I
get into prayer.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
And what am I doing?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I saying Jesus today, you are on the throne of
my heart. You are Lord of Lord's, king of kings,
You are my Lord. You're not my default God. You're
not just a flat tire God to me that when
I'm in trouble I call on you.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
No, Lord, You're on the throne of my heart. You
are who I bow to.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
You are who I worship, You are who I obey,
You are who I love. I have given you, Lord,
the pre eminence of everything else in my life.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
You are numero uno. You are it for me. I
am all in.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Come on, everyone, give the Lord praise, looking away from
all that will distract us, and focusing our eyes on Jesus.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Jesus throne of your heart today? Is he really?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Is he the one that you obey? Is he the
one that you're chasing after? Are you seeking after him?
Is he number one?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Or is it a career or is it another person? Oh?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
I have seen Christians get in trouble by hooking up
with somebody they shouldn't be running with, and before long
you see them replacing Jesus with that person on the
throne of their heart. And anything you place above Jesus
you will grow to hate one day. So we're gonna
(18:33):
look straight ahead, everybody say it, look straight ahead. Got
to guard the eye gate, Jesus said of the eye gate.
Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for
your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body
is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy,
your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the
light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep
(18:54):
that darkness is. So Jesus said, the light the window
to the soul is the eye, the eye gate. And
we've got to protect our eyes.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Folks.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You got to get up every day and say today,
I'm gonna watch over my eye gate, and I'm gonna
let in what should come in, and I'm gonna keep
out what should stay out.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
We're in a visual culture.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
You can't go on the Internet without running into garbage
unless you're very careful.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
Watch normal TV.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Now you can't see you can't see things on normal
TV commercials that if you're not careful, get into your eyegate.
Things that should not come in come in. So everybody say,
guard the eye gate. See what do you know you
need to not look at? And what do you know
(19:41):
that you need to look at? Wake up in the
morning and put your eyes on the word of God,
and get the eye of your faith on Jesus Christ,
and give God your eyes.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Give God the eye gate and ask God to help
you and listen.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
When you guard the eye gate, it helps you walk
in the spirit of God.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Amen, give God praise. Even though I know this is convicting. Amen,
but it's really good news because if you look at
the wrong thing, you're gonna grieve the.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Spirit and not walk in the spirit.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
But if you focus on the good things, then it
brings great, great power, it says. It literally brings light
into your soul. Now, the second gait is the tongue.
He says, avoid all perverse talk.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Avoid everybody say avoid. Now.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Notice, the more we take charge of our tongue, the
more we're gonna enjoy the presence of the Spirit of God.
Because death and life are in the power of what
you say. That's what the Bible says. Death and life
are in the power of the tongue. So we not
to only watch and guard over the eyegate, but we
need to guard the speak gate what we say. Jesus
(20:53):
said a lot about the importance of what you say.
He said, I tell you, on the day of judgment,
people will have to give an accounting for every careless
or useless word they speak. Well, that makes you not
want to talk at all. But did you to hear
what Jesus just said. Jesus let us know that there
is a recorder going on in heaven all the time,
and every word that people say that it's careless, reckless, abusive, thoughtless, flippant,
(21:21):
they're going to give an accounting for. So we all
have a responsibility, and that is with the words we speak.
Because we can do what no other created thing that
God made can do. We can express ourselves in language.
God gave us that power. Dogs can't do that, though I.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Wish my dog could talk sometimes.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Because they whine and whimper and look at you and
I said, I can't figure out what you're trying to
tell me, would you.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Just say it? And they can't.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
But the bottom line is God gave us the ability
to speak. We can bless, we can curse, we can
say good things and bad. We can literally bring death
or life on a person. We can run people down
and destroy them and abuse them with our words, or
we can build them up. I was talking to a
lady this week who finally, and I'm not saying she
(22:09):
did right. I don't know the whole situation, but she
said I Finally I walked away from.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
This marriage because he was so abusive to me.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
He was always running me down, he was always castigating
me and criticizing me and abusing me verbally, where I
lost all confidence in myself and all sense of self.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And so I'm just getting out.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
And again I'm not saying she did right or wrong,
but I understand that when somebody is using words the
speak gate, the tongue gate for bad. It can bring death,
it can bring life. You can pick somebody up, you
can take somebody down. You can move them forward, you
can take them backward. You can cause them to do
great things for God, or you can hinder them in
(22:50):
their walk. The words we speak are incredibly powerful, and
we need to understand God gave us this incredible gift.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
To use it wisely.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Jesus even went so far as to say that our
words can pollute our soul. He said, the words you
speak come from the heart, and that's what defiles you.
That's the tongue gate, because we can actually, as it were,
pour mud into our souls by some of the things
that we say. So we're to guard the mouthgate. Our
(23:24):
words can literally pour defilement into our spirit. Or can
cause us to walk in the spirit.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
What do you want to do?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
You want to walk in the spirit, then you say
the kinds of things you should listen to what Paul said,
don't let unwholesome, foul, profane, worthless, vulgar words ever come
out of your mouth.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
But what should I say?
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Only such speech as is good for building up others,
according to the need and according to the occasion, so
that it will be a blessing to those who hear
you speak.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
You need to look out for what comes through your
eyegate and your mouth gate. The things you allow into
your mind through the eyegate can help or hinder as
you walk in the spirit, and the words that come
out of your mouth gate can help or hinder other
people's walk as well. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that
everything is interconnected. Nearly every choice you make can either
(24:25):
assist or restrict your relationship with the Holy Spirit. To
learn more about Hardwired, keep listening.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
If these messages have proven to be a blessing and
benefit to you each time you listen, We're hoping you
might want to learn more about partnering with us financially.
If you're interested in donating We have a few ways
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(24:55):
We're so thankful this ministry as possible and it's all
because of you. Before we go, we'd like you to
hear what's coming up on the next edition of Hardwired.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
So how do you know what decisions are the right
ones to make?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Well?
Speaker 1 (25:08):
The Pastor Jeff teaches you that you need to allow
the Holy Spirit to control your gates, allow him to
guide you away from seeing things that tempt you and
from saying words that take down others. Walking into spirit
can lead you to recognize temptations from a long distance
and gives you the time to make adjustments to avoid
them or resist them. It's all about exercising restraint. There's
(25:34):
more Pastor Jeff has to share from the Book of Proverbs,
so be sure to join us again. If you miss
any part of today's teaching, you can find it online
at hardwired dot org. We're so glad we could be
part of your day to day and we pray you've
been blessed by today's edition of Hardwired
You're listening to Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire. Here's what's coming
up in today's edition.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
The veil and the temple, separating the outer place from
the Holy of Holies was ripped in half top to bottom,
and God was saying, now, anyone who puts their faith
in my son can come into my presence like only
the high priest could do before. Because now the presidence
that was in the Temple and the Holy of Holies
(00:27):
is living in you and me. We are the house
of the Holy Spirit, the home of the Holy Ghost.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Amen, He lives inside of us.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Did you realize that you and I are very fortunate
to live in the time we live in. We have
access to information, literature, and entertainment of the touch of
a button. Friar generations had limited access to the things
that we take for granted now. But one of the
biggest things that you and I had access to now
is of the Holy spirited. That is something that people
(01:03):
did not have before Jesus died on the cross. Pastor
Jeff reminds you to use that power to your advantage
to help you overcome your flesh. Well, let's join Pastor
Jeff in the Book of Proverbs, chapter four, as he
begins his message, guard your gates, every one of us.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
If you're a Christian, you wake up to a tugle war.
Every day. You wake up to a tug of war.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
And the tug of war is between the spirit of
God within you and the flesh that is still in you,
still a part of you. The flesh is not the
skin that surrounds our skeleton. It's the fallen nature of
Adam that always wants what God doesn't want for us,
and what God does want for us the flesh doesn't want,
(01:48):
and what the flesh wants God doesn't want.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So we're in a tug of war.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
How many of you can say I've already had that
tug of war today? I can tell you I did.
When the alarm went off. I had a tear. Hey man,
My flesh didn't want to get up that early, and
it didn't last week either. But the spirit of God
wants me to get up and preach a minister and
shine and share Jesus.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
So we're in a tuggle war.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
It says, the spirit battles against the flesh, and the
flesh battles against the spirit, so that so often.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
We don't do what we want to do.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
And so the Bible comes along and says, look, I've
got an answer for the struggle. Not that you're ever
going to be perfect, not you're ever going to be
totally sinless, because we all mess up, but I've got
an answer primarily fundamentally for you to have victory over
the flesh, and that is the spirit of God that
lives inside of you. It says, walk in the spirit
(02:47):
in you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
How many of you are tired of your flesh? Come on, man,
This week I made a mistake. I got Girl Scout cookies.
I went into the store, and you know, I was
walking into Albertson's and here's these little girls selling these cookies.
(03:08):
So you know, I had to bless the little girls.
So I grabbed some that were truly lethal. They're gram
I'm gonna make you hungry. I don't want to lose
you now, but they're gram crackers covered in chocolate with
some caramel in it. And those things talk to me
(03:29):
every time I went by my refrigerator, and I knew
I didn't need to eat as many as I did.
And then I got the mint chocolate covered ones now
I see the rest of you.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
You're in bondage like me. To those girls got.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
And so I said, here's sweetie, and I bought quite
a few, and I took them home and I told Cindy,
I said look when I got and she was blessed too.
So all week long I battled. Those girls got cookies.
And my flesh said, go ahead and eat if you
you deserve a break today, you've been working hard. You'll
(04:05):
go ride it off. You can eat five, six of
them at a time.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Come on, just one more.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
But the spirit of God said in me, moderation is
the key. But see I battle. Now that's just an example,
but there's many battles that are even way more.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Serious than that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
And let me read now out of Proverbs for twenty
three to twenty seven, because I want to talk to
you about guarding your gates. Guard your gates, the Bible says,
guard your heart above all else, because it determines the
course of your life. Now here comes some gates. Avoid
(04:42):
all perverse talk, Stay away from corrupt speech. Look straight
ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Mark out a straight path for your feet. Stay on
the safe pathet. It's sidetracked, keep your feet from following evil.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Let's pray.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Father, I thank you for the word of God today,
and I thank you that you have given us gates
to guard. And Lord, if we guard, then we'll walk
in the spirit. And I pray in Jesus' name that
you will speak to us, Minister to us, God, not
just hear.
Speaker 3 (05:21):
For those watching by.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Home, who we welcome right now, and Lord, I pray
that you will touch them in their living room and
touch us here in this sanctuary. And Lord, establish your
word in our heart and bring us to the place. Lord,
we are successfully walking daily in the spirit and not
in the flesh. In Jesus' name, I pray Amen. Now
(05:48):
this message kind of works both ways because I'm going
to talk to you about four gateways to your soul.
The Bible says guard your heart, but then it tells
us how to guard it. How do we guard our heart?
It tells us how to do it by mentioning four
gateways to our heart. And I'm gonna tell you what
they are. Here's what they are. The four gateways that
(06:10):
it mentions, the tongue gate, what you say, the ear gate,
what you hear, the eye gate, what you see the
feet gate. I couldn't think of a better way to
say it. So feet gate, I almost want to say watergate.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
But here we go. The feet gate where you go?
So there you go.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
The tongue gate what you say, The ear gate what
you hear, the eye gate what you see, and the
feet gate where you go. He tells us about He
mentions these four gateways to our soul, knowing that if
we can guard those gates, it will assure that we
walk with God and walk in the spirit and not
in the flesh.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
So he deals with your eyes, your tongue, your ears,
and your feet. And in Bible days, we all know
that they had walls around the cities. They had a
wall around every city for protection, and then they had
gates in different parts of those walls. And those gates
were simply designed to let the right people in and
(07:15):
keep the wrong people out. That's what the gates were for.
Let what is good in and keep what is bad out.
That's the purpose of a gate. Now the Bible is
here telling us that the eye gate, the ear gate,
the tongue gate, the feet gate, those are gateways that
(07:37):
we either let what is good into our life or
what is wrong into our life. And we're to be
guards of those gates. Anybody hearing me today, We're to
be guards of these gates. And so I want to
talk about those gates today because because we want to
walk in the spirit, and I'm going to show you
(07:58):
that if we don't guard those gates, it makes it very,
very hard to walk in the Holy ghost. How many
of you want to walk in the spirit and not
in the flesh, amen? Because if we walk in the flesh,
the Bible says, it brings death, It brings spiritual death.
It breaks our relationship, our fellowship with God.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
And we're always.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Stumbling, always falling, always messing up, always doing what we
don't want to do, going where we shouldn't go, saying
what we shouldn't say. But if we learn to guard
the gates, then it assures and greatly strengthens our ability
to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So everybody says with me, guard your gate, guard your gates,
guard your gates. The Bible says that we're to make
it our aim in life not to grieve the Holy
Spirit that lives inside of us. They see you and
I are the house of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit lives in you. Now this week in my Bible,
(08:54):
said he, I've been reading about the Tabernacle. That's just
going through the Bible in a year, which I do
every year, and so I'm reading about the Tabernacle. And
God always made a place where his glory and his
presence would be manifested. In the Tabernacle and in the Temple,
there was a special place where the glory and presence
and chakaina of God would be manifested. And it was
(09:19):
a building, it was a construction. It was tabernacle, a
great big, huge tent, or it was that beautiful temple.
But now, as soon as Jesus came and died on
the cross and rose from the dead, God said, I'm
no longer going to dwell in a building, but I'm
going to dwell in you. I'm going to dwell in
my people. And that's why when Jesus gave up his
(09:43):
spirit and died, it says the veil and the temple
separating the outer place from the Holy of Holies was
ripped in half top to bottom. And God was saying,
now anyone who puts their faith in my son can
come into my presence like only the high what priest
could do before, because now the presence that was in
(10:05):
the Temple and the Holy of Holies is living in
you and me. We are the house of the Holy Spirit,
the home of the Holy Ghost.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
He lives inside of us, and so living inside of us,
he wants to lead us. He wants to guide us,
he wants to strengthen us, he wants are you ready,
He wants to control us. Because that's what being filled
with the Holy Spirit means. It means to be controlled
by the Holy Spirit, led by the Holy Spirit. Filled
(10:38):
with the Holy Spirit. Because here's the deal. We are
either going to be controlled by the flesh or controlled
by the Holy Spirit. There is no fence, there's no
in between place, there is no option. As a human being,
you have a choice either be controlled by the flesh
do what the flesh wants you to do, or controlled
(10:59):
by the Spirit. Filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit,
and do what he wants you to do.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
That's it. Now.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
The lost person has no choice because the lost person
doesn't have the Holy.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Spirit, so they must do what the flesh tells them
to do.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
But not the believer. The believer is the only person
on earth that has a choice. We can walk in
the spirit or walk in the flesh. So the Bible says,
walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the
lust of the flesh.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Hi, everybody, I'm pastor Jeff, and thank you so much
for listening to Hardwire. You know, everybody faces battles.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Life is a battle.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
I don't think a day goes by all of us
are not in some kind of a struggle with either
the world, the flesh, or the devil. Every Christian faces battles,
but we don't fight alone. In every Christian's battle is
my new series. We're going to discover how to overcome
with God's armor and to help you follow along with
the series, we want to get a devotional to you free.
(12:00):
All you've got to do is text battle to eight
one seven for eight four four seven sixty seven. That's
Battle eight one seven four eight four four seven sixty seven,
and we'll get that devotional that will strengthen and prepare
you for the fights you're facing.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Right to you. Now, let's get back to the message.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
So it says, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God with whom you receal for the day of redemption,
and so guarding the four gateways as crucial to walking
in the spirit, not grieving the spirit, and having victory
over the flesh.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
So I want to look at these one at a.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Time, these four gates, because we've all got these four gates.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
First of all, he says, guard your eyegate. Look what
the Bible says. He says, look straight ahead, and fix
your eyes on what lies before you. In other words,
a straight gaze prevents a wandering eye. He says, I
want you to fix your eyes ahead.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Now, I don't know how many of you go to
the fair.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
I go to the fair sometimes, and I remember last
time I went, we parked where we had to walk
right into the midway.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
The midway is insanity. The midway is crazy.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Because and I realized when I walked in that where
I wanted to go was on the other side of
the midway. And so I thought, now on either side
of me are carnival barkers, what we used to call
carnival barkers.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
And it's these people that are hired.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
To get you to come and play whatever it is
they're over, like shooting a bb gun to moving targets,
throwing a softball into increasingly smaller circle sizes. And if
you can get the softball into the middle circle, you
can win a great big stuff toy. Course they've got
it rigged where you can hardly ever win it. And
so on either side of you are these carnival barkers.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
And here you are. You're walking through the midway. Now.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
When I started last time, I started this way, I said, okay,
I want to get to the other side, but I
know I'm going to be harassed from here to there
by carnival barkers on each side. So I'm gonna have
to fix my gaze straight ahead. If I look at
them and they make eye contact with me or bring
me into conversation, I'm sunk. I've got to ignore them
(14:13):
because they're always trying to get your look at them
and get you into conversation.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Come on, you look like a big, strong guy. You
can do this. They stroke your ego, they lie to you.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So I remember, I set my gaze straight ahead, and
I said, I'm just gonna walk right past him, and
walking right down through that midway, millions of people everywhere,
just a pandemonium, chaos, and all these carnival barkers look here,
look there, play this, play that, try this, try that,
look at me, look over here, you can do it.
(14:47):
Try this, come on. And as I was walking through
that midway, I thought, this is exactly like the world,
because I'm trying to keep my eyes on Jesus each
and every day, and I've got carnival barkers, so to speak,
on a side the world calling to me. Try this,
try that, do this, do that, look here, look there.
But my Bible said, look straight ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
At what at Jesus, at the things of God.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I am to use my eyegate to look at focus
on the things of God.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Look straight ahead.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Fix your eyes, everybody say with me, look ahead, fix
your eyes, fix your gaze, fix your focus, because we're
all walking through the world, and on either side of
us are temptations constantly calling to us, and so we've
got to keep our eyes looking straight ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Fix your eyes straight ahead, over and over again.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
The Bible talks about the importance of your focus. It
says in Hebrews twelve two looking away. So I'm looking
away from the carnival barkers of life. I'm looking away
from the temptations, away from the allurements.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
I'm looking away from all that will.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Distract us, and focusing our eyes primarily on Jesus, the
author and the finisher of our faith. Amen, I'm to
fix my gaze now. I like to call it the
eye of faith. My eye of faith is always turned
towards him. I don't look away from Jesus. On the inside.
(16:27):
I am walking with him, talking with him. Now, I've
got to focus on other things or I can't function
in life. But I have a primary focus, and that
focus is Jesus.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Jesus said, seek.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
First, everybody, say first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
So here's what it comes down to.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Who is on or what is on the throne of
your heart? Because all of us have a throne in
our heart where we crown something or someone king. Is
Jesus on the throne of our heart or is something else?
(17:07):
And that is the battle of the Christian life.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Every day that I.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Wake up, I get into the Word of God, I
get into prayer.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
And what am I doing?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I saying Jesus today, you are on the throne of
my heart. You are Lord of Lord's, king of kings,
You are my Lord. You're not my default God. You're
not just a flat tire God to me that when
I'm in trouble I call on you.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
No, Lord, You're on the throne of my heart. You
are who I bow to.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
You are who I worship, You are who I obey,
You are who I love. I have given you, Lord,
the pre eminence of everything else in my life.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
You are numero uno. You are it for me. I
am all in.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Come on, everyone, give the Lord praise, looking away from
all that will distract us, and focusing our eyes on Jesus.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Jesus throne of your heart today? Is he really?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Is he the one that you obey? Is he the
one that you're chasing after? Are you seeking after him?
Is he number one?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Or is it a career or is it another person? Oh?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
I have seen Christians get in trouble by hooking up
with somebody they shouldn't be running with, and before long
you see them replacing Jesus with that person on the
throne of their heart. And anything you place above Jesus
you will grow to hate one day. So we're gonna
(18:33):
look straight ahead, everybody say it, look straight ahead. Got
to guard the eye gate, Jesus said of the eye gate.
Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for
your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body
is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy,
your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the
light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep
(18:54):
that darkness is. So Jesus said, the light the window
to the soul is the eye, the eye gate. And
we've got to protect our eyes.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Folks.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
You got to get up every day and say today,
I'm gonna watch over my eye gate, and I'm gonna
let in what should come in, and I'm gonna keep
out what should stay out.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
We're in a visual culture.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
You can't go on the Internet without running into garbage
unless you're very careful.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
Watch normal TV.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Now you can't see you can't see things on normal
TV commercials that if you're not careful, get into your eyegate.
Things that should not come in come in. So everybody say,
guard the eye gate. See what do you know you
need to not look at? And what do you know
(19:41):
that you need to look at? Wake up in the
morning and put your eyes on the word of God,
and get the eye of your faith on Jesus Christ,
and give God your eyes.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Give God the eye gate and ask God to help
you and listen.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
When you guard the eye gate, it helps you walk
in the spirit of God.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Amen, give God praise. Even though I know this is convicting. Amen,
but it's really good news because if you look at
the wrong thing, you're gonna grieve the.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Spirit and not walk in the spirit.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
But if you focus on the good things, then it
brings great, great power, it says. It literally brings light
into your soul. Now, the second gait is the tongue.
He says, avoid all perverse talk.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Avoid everybody say avoid. Now.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Notice, the more we take charge of our tongue, the
more we're gonna enjoy the presence of the Spirit of God.
Because death and life are in the power of what
you say. That's what the Bible says. Death and life
are in the power of the tongue. So we not
to only watch and guard over the eyegate, but we
need to guard the speak gate what we say. Jesus
(20:53):
said a lot about the importance of what you say.
He said, I tell you, on the day of judgment,
people will have to give an accounting for every careless
or useless word they speak. Well, that makes you not
want to talk at all. But did you to hear
what Jesus just said. Jesus let us know that there
is a recorder going on in heaven all the time,
and every word that people say that it's careless, reckless, abusive, thoughtless, flippant,
(21:21):
they're going to give an accounting for. So we all
have a responsibility, and that is with the words we speak.
Because we can do what no other created thing that
God made can do. We can express ourselves in language.
God gave us that power. Dogs can't do that, though I.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Wish my dog could talk sometimes.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Because they whine and whimper and look at you and
I said, I can't figure out what you're trying to
tell me, would you.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
Just say it? And they can't.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
But the bottom line is God gave us the ability
to speak. We can bless, we can curse, we can
say good things and bad. We can literally bring death
or life on a person. We can run people down
and destroy them and abuse them with our words, or
we can build them up. I was talking to a
lady this week who finally, and I'm not saying she
(22:09):
did right. I don't know the whole situation, but she
said I Finally I walked away from.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
This marriage because he was so abusive to me.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
He was always running me down, he was always castigating
me and criticizing me and abusing me verbally, where I
lost all confidence in myself and all sense of self.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And so I'm just getting out.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
And again I'm not saying she did right or wrong,
but I understand that when somebody is using words the
speak gate, the tongue gate for bad. It can bring death,
it can bring life. You can pick somebody up, you
can take somebody down. You can move them forward, you
can take them backward. You can cause them to do
great things for God, or you can hinder them in
(22:50):
their walk. The words we speak are incredibly powerful, and
we need to understand God gave us this incredible gift.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
To use it wisely.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Jesus even went so far as to say that our
words can pollute our soul. He said, the words you
speak come from the heart, and that's what defiles you.
That's the tongue gate, because we can actually, as it were,
pour mud into our souls by some of the things
that we say. So we're to guard the mouthgate. Our
(23:24):
words can literally pour defilement into our spirit. Or can
cause us to walk in the spirit.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
What do you want to do?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
You want to walk in the spirit, then you say
the kinds of things you should listen to what Paul said,
don't let unwholesome, foul, profane, worthless, vulgar words ever come
out of your mouth.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
But what should I say?
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Only such speech as is good for building up others,
according to the need and according to the occasion, so
that it will be a blessing to those who hear
you speak.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
You need to look out for what comes through your
eyegate and your mouth gate. The things you allow into
your mind through the eyegate can help or hinder as
you walk in the spirit, and the words that come
out of your mouth gate can help or hinder other
people's walk as well. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that
everything is interconnected. Nearly every choice you make can either
(24:25):
assist or restrict your relationship with the Holy Spirit. To
learn more about Hardwired, keep listening.
Speaker 4 (24:33):
If these messages have proven to be a blessing and
benefit to you each time you listen, We're hoping you
might want to learn more about partnering with us financially.
If you're interested in donating We have a few ways
you can do that. First of all, by tapping on
the present icon on your player that will take you
to the Hardwired Giving page. Another way to donate is
by simply tapping the give button on Pastor Jeff's profile.
(24:55):
We're so thankful this ministry as possible and it's all
because of you. Before we go, we'd like you to
hear what's coming up on the next edition of Hardwired.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
So how do you know what decisions are the right
ones to make?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Well?
Speaker 1 (25:08):
The Pastor Jeff teaches you that you need to allow
the Holy Spirit to control your gates, allow him to
guide you away from seeing things that tempt you and
from saying words that take down others. Walking into spirit
can lead you to recognize temptations from a long distance
and gives you the time to make adjustments to avoid
them or resist them. It's all about exercising restraint. There's
(25:34):
more Pastor Jeff has to share from the Book of Proverbs,
so be sure to join us again. If you miss
any part of today's teaching, you can find it online
at hardwired dot org. We're so glad we could be
part of your day to day and we pray you've
been blessed by today's edition of Hardwired
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