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Are You Impeding God · Bible Tract Echoes Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey friend, welcome back to Bible Tract Echoes.
• 0:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Mike McCree, your host.
• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining me once again today.
• 0:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: We've been talking this week about three of the greatest, most terrible spiritual mistakes you could possibly ever make.
• 0:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, again, we could make this list a mile long, but I've decided to focus it on these three.
• 0:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: We spoke I think it was on Tuesday about ignoring God.
• 0:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: What a sad thing would be for the God of all eternity trying to get our attention and us to ignore him We spoke on Wednesday about irritating God.
• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know I don't want to irritate God And I'm sure you don't either, but ask your friend to consider what you doing your life and how it could potentially irritate God for instance putting other gods higher
• 0:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: than he is.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: There should be no pantheon of gods in our life.
• 0:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: There should be no hierarchy.
• 0:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: There should be God and God alone.
• 1:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: He should be the only one on the throne.
• 1:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: We should not have a myriad of others that interchange and take his place.
• 1:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Don't ignore God.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Don't irritate God.
• 1:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: And don't impede God.
• 1:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: We spoke yesterday about Aiken and the grave heir he made.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: He stole a garment, some silver and gold from Jericho, some items that very specifically.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: had been told that the people of Israel were off limits, hands off, don't mess with them, and because of it, just a few days later, weeks later, the children of Israel go to attack AI, the next step in conquering Canaan, and what happens?
• 1:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: God will not let them go forward until this sin this mistake is dealt with.
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think of Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1.
• 1:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Wherefore, seeing we also are comes about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight in this sin which does so easily, beset us, and let us run with patience, the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was said before him, endured the cross, despise in the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God, impeding God and his work is a grave mistake, and how does it often happen when we take our eyes off of God and put it on things that we place a higher priority.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: On it's not just about the personal consequences we face.
• 2:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: But about the impact, our actions will have on others and on gods, Kingdom aches greed, is disobedience, caused a massive setback for an entire community, and 36 men died as a result.
• 2:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Think about this.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you were about to run a marathon, if you were going to strap up your running shoes, you're gonna try to go run this long race, maybe you've trained for it, maybe you haven't.
• 3:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know I had to do much a training for Marathons lately, but if you were,
• 3:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Would you also find the heaviest backpack you could find and stuff it full of weights?
• 3:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Would you want to make your job more difficult?
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Unless you're trying to prove something.
• 3:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Unless it was some special marathon race I wouldn't.
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I won't want to be as light as possible.
• 3:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: I would want to not impede my progress for it So spiritually speaking, why would we want to impede God's will for our life?
• 3:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: As we're called a lay aside, every weight, we've got to realize that sin impedes our progress and hinders our effectiveness in God's work like Aiken when we allow sin.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: To take root in our lives, even if you try to hide it, as he did in this tent, he tried to bury it in a place where no one would know about it, but God knew.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: when we do that, we not only harm ourselves, but also those around us and the work of the gospel.
• 3:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: But that brings us to our final thought.
• 4:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is not necessarily a spiritual mistake.
• 4:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Though I guess you could categorize that way.
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: I just want to draw this theme to a close.
• 4:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't want you to ignore God.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't want you to irritate God.
• 4:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't want you to impede God's working your life.
• 4:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so we arrive at a place where you may be a place I've been before.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: stuck between what I want to do and what God wants me to do, a place of in decision.
• 4:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's consider a historical illustration of indecision during the American Civil War.
• 4:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a general named George McClellan.
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: McClellan was an incredibly talented military leader.
• 4:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was known for his organizational skills, his ability to train soldiers.
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was actually one of Lincoln's very first picks to lead the Union Army.
• 4:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: However, despite his capabilities.
• 4:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well known though they were, he had a significant flaw.
• 5:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was overly cautious and often failed to act decisively.
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: During, in 1862, during the peninsula campaign, the Kelen had an opportunity to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond and potentially end the war early.
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Despite get this, he had to spare a numbers, well-planned strategy, McClellan hesitated and delayed his attacks.
• 5:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: What did his fear, what did his cautiousness, his fear failure, what did it cost them?
• 5:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, it impeded,
• 5:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: the Union Army's progress, it allowed the Confederates to regroup and fortify their defenses, and his lack of decisive action prolonged the war, leading to much more bloodshed, and suffering.
• 5:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: McClellan's story, by all accounts of good manners, Blingens first choice to lead the United Union armies, think about what it cost,
• 6:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Think about what it happened as a result of his indecisiveness, his indecisiveness impeded the union army's success, and our spiritual hesitation into obedience to get back on track, can that result in us continuing to ignore, can result in us continuing to irritate, can result in us continuing to impede.
• 6:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: God's work in our lives and in the lives of others.
• 6:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: realize aching, cost him his life, his family's lives.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it costs a lives of 36 other men as well.
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: In James, chapter 4 of our 17, we were told, therefore to him that nooth to do good, and do with it not, to him, it is sin.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: When we know what is right, we know that the Bible tells us, it's very clear, but when we know what is right and failed to act, we impede God's work.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: We can also irritate God.
• 7:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: But at the same time, maybe we're doing with our fingers stuck in our ears going la la la la la la ignoring God.
• 7:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: We hinder the progress of His kingdom, the spread of the gospel, just like Aiken, just like McLeodlin, our actions, or should I say, in actions to bring ourself back into fellowship with God, because God has moved, we were the ones that ignored Him, we were the ones that stepped away.
• 7:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: We were the ones that are irritating and impeding.
• 7:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Our inaction can have far-reaching consequences and impacts.
• 7:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: For a moment, I'd like you to reflect on what you've heard today.
• 7:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'd encourage you to examine your own life.
• 7:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Are there areas where we are impeding God's work?
• 7:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Are there sins or weights?
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Things that we know we should not be doing, or even things that we know we should be doing that are holding us back from fully serving Him?
• 7:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Friend, I tell you today is the day to lay them aside.
• 8:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, you gotta come repent and you need to go to Jesus, go to God and tell them I'm sorry for this.
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: You don't just say, oh, I'm gonna change today.
• 8:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just gonna, I know I've been ignoring you.
• 8:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know I've been irritating, I know I've been impeding, I know my actions have been hurting, not just myself, but others.
• 8:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna change my ways, no friend.
• 8:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Honestly, if your heart does not burn with what you're doing wrong and I question your attitude about it because I question myself sometimes.
• 8:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because there are times when I can be so self-righteous, I'm doing what's right for me.
• 8:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Friend, this is no his truth and her truth, no there is the truth, there's God's truth.
• 8:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I wonder how often, for myself, how often I can be cross ways with God.
• 8:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: for the sake of those around you.
• 8:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
• 8:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Please consider getting right.
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: But at the end of the day, instead of making a list of all the people that you are,
• 9:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: causing problems for, by your spiritual mistakes, I would consider the fact that you are offending a holy God.
• 9:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: While at the same time, your wife, your husband, your children will reap the consequences of your spiritual indecision in not moving forward to rebuild the fellowship that you should have with God.
• 9:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: With God,
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Often times I've found as of recent days, I lean more towards grace than truth.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I lean towards a lot of fair kind of everyone, you know, just let's get along.
• 9:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: But at the same time, I've found in recent days that sometimes the most gracious thing I can do is tell the truth.
• 9:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: A problem procrastinated is a problem magnified, is a problem doubled.
• 9:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today, maybe you need to realize that you are causing yourself and many people dear to you problems, because you are not dealing with some spiritual mistakes, and much rather learn from these mistakes before they get so serious.
• 10:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Friends, if I can be a help to you.
• 10:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: If I can give you an encouraging word or maybe you like some counsel and you have because I'm something of an unknown but known quantity you'd like to reach out to me.
• 10:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I would direct you first to your pastor if you have one I'd encourage you to go to some biblical counselors but I can be a help to you.
• 10:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'd love to.
• 10:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have folks almost weekly, contact me and say, have this or this issue, I'd like some counsel, some Bible on this, and oftentimes people know the right answers, but they still need to be.
• 10:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: They still need to hear it.
• 10:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: And so if I can be that for you, I'd love to.
• 10:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll do my absolute best to respond to each and every one of you as quickly as possible.
• 10:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can text me at 309, 316, 724, 0.
• 10:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: I said that kind of fast.
• 11:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: text me at 3-0-9-3-1-6-7-2-4-0.
• 11:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: I would absolutely love to hear from you.
• 11:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you have a question, comment.
• 11:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: A critique.
• 11:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're a long time a participant a listener to this program I'd love to know where you're listening from.
• 11:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're a donor to the Ministry of Bible Tracks and Corporate, thank you so very much.
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Your gifts allow this ministry by God's grace to continue forward.
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I can't tell you what it means to me.
• 11:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: And ask if you're listening right now to use
• 11:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Gospel tracks.
• 11:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: She said the opportunity a friend of mine invited me to go with him to a dirt track race over in Kinkyke about 45 minutes Who were live and had a good time over there.
• 11:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: I enjoy Racing.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: I enjoy dirt track racing.
• 11:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: He had come over and helped me on our house a little bit So I wanted to take care of the ticket cost of what not and so walked up there So I have to credit card what not and I slid across It was a pleasure to meet your gospel track.
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was a pleasure
• 12:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: To meet you talk to the guy for just a moment.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: He remarked.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: I have one of those metal credit cards You know, it feel expensive, but they don't have a money on him.
• 12:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, but he was marking on that We talked about 30 seconds.
• 12:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I still that gospel tracked over and my prayers any reads it.
• 12:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if he will or not
• 12:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I know there's a far better chance of him reading it now that he has in his hand than when it was in my pocket.
• 12:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'd encourage you.
• 12:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Use gospel tracks.
• 12:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll talk to you next week looking forward to what God has for us in the future days and Bible tracks and corporate Bible track echoes.
• 12:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: My name is Mike McCurray.
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for your listenership.
• 12:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today, have a great day.
• 13:12
  [UNKNOWN]: Thank you.
• 13:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for tuning in to Bible Tract Echoes, the radio ministry of Bible Tracts Incorporated.
• 13:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Want to see our gospel tracks and other resources?
• 13:26
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• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks again for listening.
• 13:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: May the Lord richly bless you as you live for Him.