Latest / ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide / Commandments Aren't Restrictions: How Obedience Brings Peace, Health, and Purpose

Transcript

Commandments Aren't Restrictions: How Obedience Brings Peace, Health, and Purpose · ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide

• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Following Jesus doesn't guarantee an easy life.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: It guarantees that our life can become better, stronger, more peaceful, and more purposeful because we are walking with Him.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Our big question today that we're going to work to answer is what if the commandments aren't restrictions on our happiness, but instructions for accessing God's blessings.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Todd Talks, Spirit by Design, where I help you design your spiritual life in preparation for the Lord's second coming.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: In the last episode, we talked about Jesus' command: if ye have faith, ye shall not fear.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: But faith isn't just about surviving the storms.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Faith changes what happens to us and more importantly, what happens inside of us when we follow Jesus Christ?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: What does God actually promise us?
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: How does following Christ make life easier?
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Does obedience produce blessings?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Can the gospel affect our physical health, our mental health, our finances, our marriage, our peace of mind, our ability to handle adversity?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: What if some of the things we call rules are actually God's instructions for living a blessed life?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Those are some of the questions we're going to talk about and we're going to answer today.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because you always want your questions answered, don't you?
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I know I do.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I am a very inquisitive person.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: I've been searching my whole life for more answers, more information, more knowledge.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be stupid.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I've got a sign on my wall.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's written in Cyrillic, in Serbian.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um it was taken, it was a picture taken from a some graffiti in Serbia.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: It says Glupos jnew.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Stupidity can't be beaten.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have no desire to be stupid.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I have a strong desire for knowledge and wisdom.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And you're probably like me, you have it, if you're listening to this, you have a desire for wisdom and knowledge.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, one of the ways that we get wisdom and knowledge is through the blessings of following Christ's teachings.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: We don't follow Christ because if I obey, God owes me a good life.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's not Christianity.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Christ never promised us no sickness, no financial problems, no heartbreak, no disappointment, no persecution, no tragedy.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, Jesus Himself said in John 16, 33, in the world ye shall have tribulation.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Be of good cheer, regardless of the problems, regardless of the stress, regardless of the tribulation, be of good cheer.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because Christ overcame the world.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: The blessing isn't always that God removes the problem.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the blessing is that Christ changes what the problem can do to you.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, in the last episode or previous episode, I talked about the fact that I just signed up for my first Iron Man.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be 52 years old, running my first Iron Man.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And bicycling and swimming, I guess.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm excited about it because of who I will have to become in order to finish it.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Just like I'm excited about working to become a millionaire because of the person I will have to become in order to get there.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited about the gospel because of the person I have to become to be able to see Jesus Christ on the day of judgment and not shrink in not fear, but shame.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're all sinners.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Spiritual obedience produces real-world blessings.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's the beauty of all this.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven upon which all blessings are predicated.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's Doctor and Covenants 130, verses 20 and 21.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is the foundational principle for this episode.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: God isn't arbitrary.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: God works according to universal law.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: All blessings are predicated upon universal law.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: There are consequences to choices that we make.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: So let's look at physical laws.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: You eat poorly, your body gains weight, gets sick.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Your body adapts.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: You exercise, your body adapts, you thin down, you strengthen your muscles, you live longer.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: You spend recklessly, and your financial consequences follow.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: You constantly consume negativity and your mind responds.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: How about this?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: You practice gratitude and your perspective changes.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: This morning, when I got up to do my four-mile walk, I was not in a great mood.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't wake up on the right side of the bed.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: I was frustrated and grumpy.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And for the last 15 minutes of my walk, I listened to and repeated a whole bunch of gratitude affirmations.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Was it a perfect change in my heart?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I still had some of my frustrations, but I tell you what, I was much happier when I got home from my walk than I was when I left.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that wasn't just the endorphins of walking, though endorphins are great, and I highly recommend exercise for your happiness.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: When you practice gratitude, your perspective changes.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: When you pray, your relationship with God develops.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: When you keep your covenants, spiritual strength increases.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: I can attest to that for it's true.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: When you keep your covenants, you become spiritually stronger.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: God talks to you more and you listen because you hear him.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not keeping your covenants, if you're not keeping the commandments, if you're not trying to be a better person, you don't hear him as well.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: God's commandments are not just about where we go after we die, they're about how we live while we are here.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, first off, to answer one of the earlier questions I posed, can the gospel, living the gospel, help us out physically?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, in the Church of Jesus Christ, the Latter day Saints, we have a word of wisdom.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it talks about several things that we choose not to partake of, kind of like Catholics with Lint, but we choose as a law of obedience not to partake in coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: But the majority of the word of wisdom, the law that we follow, really is about the good things that are provided for us.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: We're told to not eat to excess, but in moderation, avoid addictive substances, exercise, rest, have stewardship over our body.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're told to have sexual morality.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the Ten Commandments, right?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Healthy habits, self-control.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see anyone or people or generations or the world today that give over to emotions for everything, and they exercise no self-control?
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel teaches us that your body isn't your enemy, it's a gift that you're responsible for.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, in 1 Corinthians 6.19, it says, Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And in Corinthians 3 16, know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: But the Spirit of God cannot dwell in unholy temples.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: The promise of the Word of Wisdom isn't that if you follow God, you won't get sick.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: People get sick.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's happened.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: It happens.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, God doesn't promise perfect health.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: He teaches us how to become better stewards of the health we've been given.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what we want, right?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: We want to be healthy.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to feel like crap.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Or let's put it this way: when you're lethargic, fog headed, just feel like sick.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Are you really a good servant at that point?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because all you're thinking about is yourself and how crappy you feel.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's a big pause, but I just wanted you to think about it.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel teaches us to think of others and love others as we love ourselves.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if all we can focus on is ourself, we're not going to be very good stewards over that responsibility.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, Peace I live with you, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: John 14, 27.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Notice he didn't say the world will give you peace.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: He said he will give you peace.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: In Philippians 4, 6 and 7, it talks about the connection between prayer, gratitude, trusting God, letting go of anxiety, and peace.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus, through Christ Jesus.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, which we only get through request and leaning into Jesus.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: You can have that peace of God even in the midst of turmoil, war, financial depression, financial marital troubles.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: You can find that peace if you seek it.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Following Christ can give us perspective, hope, purpose, forgiveness, reduced resentment, freedom from guilt through repentance, confidence in God's plan, a reason to keep going when life hurts.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: The bottom line: the world tells us peace comes when everything gets under control.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here to tell you, you will never have everything under control.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's not a bad thing.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can control as much of your life as you want to try, and what you will can what you will succeed in doing is stressing yourself and everyone else out around you.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: Christ teaches us that peace can come even when everything around us is not under control.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: That is an emotional and mental strength that you can get nowhere else.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: And believe me, I know that to be true.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: I've found peace in some of the most unlikely situations.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been to war many times.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: In Matthew 6.33, we read, But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Romans 13.8, owe no man anything but to love one another.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And Proverbs, the borrow is servant to the lender.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know all about that.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: God cares how we handle our finances.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: He cares how we handle money.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a student of abundance, and I have a mindset of abundance now.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And what I'm realizing is that I had a mindset of scarcity and a mindset of a borrower for many, many, many years.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: But the gospel.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then you will obtain, then if you desire, you will obtain riches, because you will seek them to help others.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: In the Churches of Jesus Christ of Larter Day Saints, we have we discuss tithing, avoiding unnecessary debt, living within your means, saving, hard work, generosity, self-reliance, provident living, avoiding greed.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Those all sound like good things, don't they?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's smart.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: You want less stress?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Don't have debt.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have a lot of debt.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it does cause me stress sometimes.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel is not a get rich quick scheme.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Some people struggle financially.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I've talked about this in the in the episode on tithing.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: The day that Tiffany and I decided we would not miss being full tithepayers.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: The day that we decided to be full tithepayers.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we may have debts, we may have lots of expenses, but we have not struggled for money.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because we made the promise.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord, it's the one area the Lord says, challenge me, try me.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And he follows universal law.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven upon which all blessings are predicated.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And he says, try me.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Pay your tithing.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'll bless you financially.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: He blesses us financially.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Surprise, surprise.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: He does what he says.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: That shouldn't really be a surprise.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: He always does what he says he's gonna do.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: We don't, we're human, but he does.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Gospel principles, following them can create financial wisdom and stability.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Tithing teaches us trust, discipline, gratitude, and putting God first.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Budgeting teaches us delayed gratification, stewardship, and responsibility.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: Generosity teaches abundance rather than scarcity, detachment from material things and concern for others.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Bottom line, again, God doesn't promise that obedience will make you wealthy, but he repeatedly teaches principles that make us better stewards of whatever he puts in our hands.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: He has promised that we will have our needs met.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: In Matthew 22, 37 to 39, we're taught to love God and love your neighbor.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: What happens to your marriage when you actually try to live, love one another as I have loved you?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Would you forgive faster, listen better, serve instead of demand?
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Stop keeping score?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you'll control your anger, become less selfish, apologize, practice charity.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, serve the other person rather than demanding to be served.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Crazy concept in this world of me, me, me, me, me, me.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: If every marriage, if every marriage made the point of trying to make your partner happy.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: Serve your partner to help them be happy, rather than complain that my partner doesn't make me happy.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: There'd be a lot fewer divorces, I believe.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Following Christ doesn't just change your relationship with God, it changes your relationship with everybody else.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Christ asks us to practice things repeatedly, simple things.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel ultimately is very simple.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Pray, study scripture, repent, serve, take the sacrament, keep covenants, fast, forgive, worship.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And do it over and over and over until the end of your life.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: In Hebrews 12 11 it says, No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth to the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Meaning that the blessing often comes after the discipline, after consistency.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Just like physical fitness, you don't become strong because you intend to exercise.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Intentions have not solved anything in the world.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can have the greatest of intentions and do lots of damage.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: In physical fitness, you don't become strong because you intend to exercise.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: You become strong because you consistently do something difficult.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Same works for spirituality.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Again, let's wrap this up with blessings don't mean the absence of adversity.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: Job was righteous.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Job lost everything.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: But clearly, righteousness is not immunity from suffering, right?
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Job's story.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: He was challenged, he was changed, his circumstances changed, his relationship with God endured, and he gained back everything that he had lost, and then some.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Faith doesn't say nothing bad will happen.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing bad will happen.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't say that.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Faith says, whatever happens, I don't have to face it alone.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: So what is the greatest blessing God can give us?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Not money, not perfect health, not an easy life.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: He gives us Jesus Christ.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: And in 2 Nephi 2 25, we learn, men are that they might have joy, not fleeting elements of happiness or sparks of passion, joy, deep abiding joy.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: In John 10 10, it says, I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel isn't merely preparing us for life after death.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Christ teaches us how to experience a more abundant life on earth before death.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: So the commandments ultimately are an invitation.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Faith over fear.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Faithful living produces blessings.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily the blessings we expect, but the blessings God knows we need.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: The question isn't why does God have so many commandments?
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the question, better question, is what is God trying to protect, strengthen, and bless in me through those commandments?
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Following Christ won't guarantee you an easy life.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know that.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to sugarcoat it.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Life is quite often hard now following Christ.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: And more importantly, it'll give you a better life.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: It can make you better equipped to live with whatever life throws at you.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: That is the key.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: For the next thirty days, I challenge you to don't just believe in Christ, follow him.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: Do these things pray, study, serve, repent, repeat, forgive, give, keep your covenants, take care of your body, control your appetites, be honest, put God first.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's a lot of things, isn't it?
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: But if you do this, a month from now you'll be asking, what is changing?
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because you'll find that the miracle is happening inside of you.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: And you won't be able to see it until you consistently try it.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is Todd Talk Spirit by Design, and I hope you have a great, great week.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: Have a blessed day.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Support the show.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: There's a little support the show button if you feel like it.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Or you can also give five stars, leave a review, help the show to get out to help other people just like you that are searching for ways and spiritual messages to brighten their day.