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Family Talk: A Conversation with Dad · Enjoying the Journey

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  In our busy world, family time is frequently
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  neglected. It is vital that we give attention to our families
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  while we can, and it is especially important to give
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  attention to what God says in his word about our homes.
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  For the next few moments, Let's join Scott Pauley as we open the scriptures
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  and find God's message for your family.
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  Welcome to Enjoying the Journey. This is Scott Pauley, and I am
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  thrilled that you've chosen to listen today and especially excited that
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  I have an honored guest with me on the episode. You may
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  know that we're starting a little differently today because these broadcasts are unique. We're having
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  conversations this week, Family Talk we're calling it,
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  and I want to encourage all of you, slow down long enough,
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  turn the media off long enough to have a conversation in your home.
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  Talk to the people you love and talk about the things that matter most.
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  And today I'm having a conversation with my dad.
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  Dad has been a faithful example of a husband, a father,
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  He's been my best friend from the time I was a little boy. He was
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  my first preaching professor, I tell people, and he
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  is still my counselor and advisor. Dad, I love you. I thank
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  God to have you with me today. I love you too. I'm honored to be
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  on the program today. What a joy for myself. I want to begin
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  with one verse of scripture that I'm choosing on purpose.
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  I'll let you explain it in just a moment. It's a famous verse.
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  It's Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33. He said, but seek ye
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  first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things
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  shall be added unto you. Now, long before I ever knew that verse or understood
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  the, the message behind it, it was already impacting
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  our family because it had impacted your life. Tell us about that.
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  Well, indeed it did. Of course, I grew up in a preacher's home.
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  I was baptized when I was 7 years old.
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  But I did not have a true relationship with Jesus Christ.
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  I was 18 years old, right after high school,
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  that through a chain of events, I knew that I was
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  lost and that I needed the Savior. I asked
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  Christ to come into my heart when I was 18 years old. He changed my
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  life forever. It was in church that
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  I met my beautiful wife, Marsha. And we sat together
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  in church. She was younger than me, but we sat
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  together in church. That's how it began. And through
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  those years, God was certainly guiding and leading
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  without us really understanding. It was sometime
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  after that, about a year after that, I guess, that I
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  landed a job that ended up being a lifetime career.
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  Didn't see it coming, but God did.
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  And God put me in the place at the right time.
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  And shortly after that, I had proposed to my
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  wife, got permission from mom and dad, and we were married.
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  And so as a young couple, very young,
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  we claimed this verse, but seek ye first the
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  kingdom of God. And realizing that that verb seek just
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  simply means to go after. To pursue.
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  And I had been pursuing a lot of things prior to meeting my wife,
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  but in all the wrong places. And so it was about
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  pursuing the Lord, drawing close to the Lord. That's great.
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  Let me pause just for a moment and say to folks who are listening,
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  if you don't have a family verse, choose one.
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  If you don't have one, Matthew 6:33 would be a good one. Amen. But find
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  some verse that you say, we're going to build our home on this as a
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  foundation, and let the Word of God and the principles of the Word
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  of God guide your life. Now this particular verse,
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  Matthew 6:33, is really a verse about right priorities,
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  isn't it? That's correct. You see the priority is there,
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  that's pursuing the Lord, drawing close to the Lord.
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  The Bible says, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.
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  So it's more than just knowing his presence in my life,
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  but every decision that you make from your career to
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  your finances to your relationship with others,
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  it's about seeking the Lord's face in all of that and making that a priority.
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  And with that principle— that's a principle there— with that priority
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  though, then there's also the promises of God. Yes. Oh yes.
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  You know, I was just thinking, in a sense,
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  My sweet mother, your, your wife,
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  and all of the other blessings of God were part of
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  the special things God added to you when you started
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  seeking him. No question. And we live in a shortcut society where everybody
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  wants to cut to the last part of this verse. You know, everybody wants to
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  claim the promise of the all things. They just don't want to seek the Lord
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  first. But there's no shortcut to this, is there? There is no shortcut.
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  And Again, it's walking by faith, not by sight,
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  and knowing that he doeth all things well. Yes. And God's in control
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  of it all. And so step by step,
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  trust in the Lord, just as a young couple, happy. Yes.
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  God had given us a little house to live in, and we
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  were just as happy as I've often heard people say,
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  as a duck in a mud puddle. That's pretty happy. The preacher that I followed
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  would always say that. And then the Lord blessed us with
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  a son, and then the 4 years later he blessed us with a daughter and
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  gave us a beautiful home that we built. And it's just
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  been an amazing journey for sure, what the Lord's done. Now let
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  me testify for a moment. I saw this principle worked out
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  in our home growing up. You know, the whole idea of enjoying the journey,
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  I really believe I learned it first at home. And that's where
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  all great principles are learned. But I remember as a child you teaching me the
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  difference between being a giver and a taker. I remember you frequently teaching
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  us about tithing and giving and saying things like,
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  you can't outgive God. Um, to me,
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  that was one of the applications of the fact that Matthew 6:33
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  had really impacted your thinking. You, you viewed your life that
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  way. You taught us that way. There came a moment in life
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  where God led you— you were bivocational for years,
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  serving in business and serving in ministry, but there came a point where God led
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  you to go full-time into the Lord's work. How did this principle
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  about priorities affect that? That was a very interesting
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  time. There were so many opportunities that was coming to us and
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  before us that we thought we were taking that path.
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  Just to be a lay preacher, if you would,
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  but God had opened this door and opened it wide,
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  and so we made a choice. A.W. Tozer said,
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  the choices we make today determine who we are tomorrow.
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  That's why it's important to have a principle to live by,
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  and the principle is through the Lord Jesus Christ, and with that
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  principle in Matthew 6:33 is also the promises of God,
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  And as I look back, I see that there are some choices
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  we could have made, but God did not allow us to do that.
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  And I'm thankful that we did not go that direction.
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  I'll go one step farther than A.W. Tozer.
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  The choices we make today not only determine who
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  we are tomorrow, but also who our children are
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  tomorrow. And so it's the greatest gift
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  that God has given us outside of salvation is our children.
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  And to see them serving the Lord and now their children
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  serving the Lord and seeking God's face, there's nothing,
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  uh, any better than that. Wonderful.
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  Well, you know, I, I'm the recipient of that.
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  I'm living in the overflow of the blessing that has come from that
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  obedience. And I think that's one thing I've recognized as I'm getting older,
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  you know, that we have been the beneficiaries of
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  this principle being lived out. And I'm sure you have regrets,
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  and there are no perfect homes and no perfect people,
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  but I want to say personally, I'm grateful to God and to you that
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  you sought the Lord first, and we're seeing the,
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  the blessing that has come because of that. In the closing moment that
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  we have together, what advice would you give to people? And we've got folks listening
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  from all over and from in all different circumstances. But what
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  advice would you give to families about right priorities?
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  Well, the right priorities begin with that right
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  relationship with Christ. It's not about joining
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  a church and being involved at church in all of the ministries,
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  for you can have religion and not have a relationship with Christ.
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  And so whether you claim this verse or another verse, it's about
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  just drawing near to the Lord. And he says again,
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  draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to you, and he'll meet every
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  need according to his perfect will. Amen. Well, friends, you're,
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  you're seeking direction, you're facing a decision,
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  you're working through some dilemma. I want to remind you,
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  go back to what you know for sure. There is a God,
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  his way is right, and if you will seek his face
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  and him first then God will take
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  care of all the rest. Leave the details up to the Lord. And,
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  uh, Dad, I'm very grateful for the way you're living this
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  principle still. I want to live it. I want to challenge others to live it.
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  Matthew 6:33, friends. I hope you'll take it, make it your own today, and order
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  your home by God's priorities.
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  For more resources for your marriage and family,
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  visit us at etj.bible.org. And click on
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  the Take the Next Step link, where you'll find many Bible
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  resources that will strengthen your marriage and equip you
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  to raise your children in the ways of the Lord.
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  We highly recommend Scott's book, New Testament Marriage.
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  In it, you'll discover timeless biblical principles from the
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  husband and wife team Aquila and Priscilla, and these principles are
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  very applicable to to your marriage today. From all of
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  us at Enjoying the Journey, thanks for listening today. And until next
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  time, we pray that you will enjoy the journey.