We're excited to be with you again and we're excited about getting into God's Word. We're going to be talking some more about what it means to believe and just how effective or how much influence what we believe has in our life. And we're going to look at it from what God's Word has to say. So if you got your Bible and you can sit down with us, it would be good.
I'd like for you to go along with us if you could because it would help you to be able to see and understand what we're trying to convey to you and get across to you as you see it for yourself, not only just here, but see it. So if you can get your Bible and we're going to get right on into God's Word. Please connect with The Rise and Shine by visiting our Facebook page at facebook.com slash a Rise and Shine TV show or emailing us at a Rise and Shine TV at gmail.com. We look forward to connecting with you.
All right. So if you have your Bible, let's turn over to the book of Mark chapter 16. We're talking about believing and the power that what you believe has in your life. And we've learned that believing what we believe is a choice.
It's a decision. Now there is this element that because there's a, you know, the Bible talks about in the last days, one of the signs of the last times that there would be that we could mean would increase. And it said that there would be those that were deceived and they would be deceiving. What we're deceiving is, is influencing someone to believe something that is not true.
That's what deception is. Okay. And the Bible says that this would increase in the last days. Well, in, in the day society in the world that we're living in, it is so obvious to us to listen to myself that this is going on in our society.
That there are those that want to force people to believe the wrong things. And we live in a time where that, and I'm just going to say for what it is, that there are those that are pushing a socialist form of government. Now, to begin with, socialism is a godless form of democracy. It is godless.
God is not in the equation, just like it's not in the equation of communism. Okay. And so we're headed toward the seven year tribulation. And because we're seeing such great evidence of that, we know that we're living in the last days when Jesus is going to come as a thief in the night.
So he's coming for the church and he's coming real soon. But one of the most, our job is, is to help people during this time. Because we live in a time where information has been made so available and there is so much of it out there, especially with all of the TV stations that we have, with all of the different news stations that we have. And not only that, but all of the social media where everybody and their brother gets on there and gives their opinion of what they think.
And he got all these steps going on. Guys, there's a reason why Proverbs 4 says, and it's about verse 24 or 25, this way in our notes. So I'm not going to take the time to turn over there. But it starts off in verse 22, I believe it is.
Or I said, my son attended to my words and it tells us what to do. Keep it in your heart, keep it before your eyes and keep it in your mouth. For they, the word is life to those that find them and health to all their flesh. But then right after it says, keep that heart with all diligence.
For out of it flows the issues or the forces or the powers of life, the amplified says. And so there's a reason why God said to protect your heart. You got to protect yourself because there are forces that there are things out there that want to control the way you think. Because if they can control the way you think, they can control what you believe and they can dominate and control your behavior.
Because see, you behave and you act in absolute agreement with what you believe. And what you believe is a direct result of what you have spent your time thinking about over a period of time. Now just because you have a thought doesn't mean you're going to become something. But if you embrace that thought thoughts are like birds that fly over.
You know birds can fly over and it can even try to land and you can shoot without. But if you just let it stay long enough, it'll be able to nest and move in. See, that's the way thoughts are. Thoughts will come but it feels you them away and refuse to believe them.
But you've got to recognize what they are. You've got to be able to recognize. You can't do that. See without God's word.
So there's been a time where the system that this world system is trying to conform people, be not conformed to this world, but be transformed. Now listen, by the renewing of the mind. That is so critical. Now I think that is what Romans 12, what talks about that.
You know that God don't want you to be conformed to this world. Don't want you to act like the world. Think like the world. Talk like the world.
He wants you to be transformed and walk in that newness of life and be his expressed goodness in this earth. Amen. So we're going to Mark 16, okay? And we're going to read verses 28, 29.
this is right before Jesus was sent into heaven. Some of the Mark, Mark 16, 15, 16, I'm sorry, I was reading the wrong one there. Mark 16, 15, and 16, before he was sent into heaven, the last words according to Mark that he said to his disciples before he left. So it must be pretty important, you know, you kind of think that, okay, I've only got a paragraph, I'm going to say to them, so you wouldn't just goof off with them, it'd be important, okay?
Because this is going to be in their thinking. What did he have to say here? Go ahead and read to him. He said, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and his baptize shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Now see, that's again right there, it's amazing. You know, we talk about the Great Commission, we talk about going into all the world preaching the gospel, which we should be doing. And by the way, gospel is good news, it's not bad news.
You know, this is like, you know, we said before, you know, talking about, you know, that God is a good God, you know, and everything that he has is good. So the gospel is good news, but it also it says right there in that 16th verse, he said, now notice what he said, our entire future, and I'm not talking about just these last days that we spend on earth, but all of eternity is determined by one thing and one thing only, what is that? Who you trust who you put your eternity in? What you believe?
And it's what you believe? He said, you go and you proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins was raised from the dead. He said, and everybody that will hear that, and will believe it, commit themselves to it, embrace it and become a part of it. He said, they'll be saved, they'll be delivered.
They'll be all that salvation breaks to them. He said, but those that reject it and those that believe not. He said, now listen, he said, they are damned. See, they'll be damned.
So not only is what you believe an act of your will, but what you choose to believe in can and will determine your eternity. You sound important, believe in this? You know, and just and we use it so flippin. You know, well, I believe this and I believe that.
Well, I believe I'll go to the store and I believe it was, you know, that's okay to talk like that as long as you understand that there's a difference. When I think I believe I'll go to the store, it means I think I will. Well, I guess I will. You know, I'm thinking about it.
I suppose, but when it talks about this, this is much deeper. This is talking about you believe it to the point you're willing to commit to it. You're willing to become a part of it. You're willing to marry it.
So yeah, you're going to act on it and embrace it into your life. See, and I believe there's a lot of people out there. I believe, do you hear what I said? I believe.
And I'm convinced that there's a lot of people out there that say they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but it's a mental acknowledgement and agreement that he did exist and he did all these wonderful things, but they've never been willing to commit. See, that's what makes the difference. Well, not knowing who he is or what because he I mean, him as a person, just like the things that we believe we've gotten because usually because of the influence somebody else has had on our life, somebody brings an idea into our life. And that person is influential.
And we trust them. And so we believe that what they're saying, we believe what they're saying is, is truth. And so we say, okay, that's the way it is. So people that don't have a knowledge of God or a knowledge of what Jesus is as far as being the Christ, the Savior, our Redeemer, without that knowledge of him, then they don't they don't believe.
But when somebody comes into your life and shows you what he is and shows you who he is, and the plan that God has for him, then that's when we make that choice, we make that decision. And it's life altering. But at the same time, it's, it's setting our eternity. Like you said, it's, it's, and it's portraying what we're, what kind of life we're going to have from here on out.
But the thing is, after you accept Jesus, I mean, if you can accept the fact that God sent a Savior to redeem us from hell and all of its, um, technical things that are here on the earth, then it's so much easier to believe that he wants to interact in this part of your life and interact in this part of your life. And but looking to him as a source, I don't know, but you see people all the time, like you said, they call themselves Christians, but it never dawns on them to go to the source when something comes into their life. You know, like if we're sick, what do we do? We go to someone that has knowledge about physical needs, a doctor, and we look at credentials, what kind of things do they have behind them that says they actually know what they say they know.
But as Christians, it never, you know, lots of times we don't even think to go to the word first to find out what God says about a certain situation. And that's where you're talking about what we put our belief in. That's what we're, that's what we're trying to define. It's not against people going to the doctor.
You know, just like no, but I'm just saying he's not and he's not against people, just like he's not against people going to a mortgage company to get a mortgage for their house or going to the bank to get along. But he is against now listen, he is totally against somebody putting them before him and trusting them instead of trusting him. Right. See, you may, you may go to the doctor, but you have to steal go to the doctor in faith, because that doctor does not have the capability of healing you.
You know, he does not have that capability. Now he can assist your body in the healing process, and he can, and he can do certain things. But guys, he is extremely limited on what he can and cannot do just like the banks. They are extremely limited on their will, what they're willing and can do in your life, you know, but God, and that's the whole neat thing about God is, you know, if you're waiting to get good enough for God to do something for you, you'll die, because you can't get good enough.
God just loves you because of who you are. And it's amazing that when we put our faith and trust in him, see, that's how the change begins. It doesn't begin from the outside in. It begins from the inside out.
There's something about banning yourself over on to him. Like when I before I got saved, I was a drug addict. I mean, I lived a horrible life and it didn't really matter what and where I was and what I did, you know, you know, you just didn't care what come out your mouth. It's no respect or really honor for anybody or anything.
But when I abandoned myself to him, that was a commitment I made. I didn't just say, okay, I choose to believe that you know that you are Lord, it wasn't just a mouth thing. It was from the heart I mean it. Guys, I did not have to change.
I did not have to figure out how I was going to quit cousin or how I was going to quit doing drugs or drinking or even hanging out with the people that I used to hang out with, because I got around them and I found out that I had changed. I wasn't the same person. I didn't want to be around them. It just goes, I mean, it wasn't that I didn't like them.
It's just that they were such a contrast in the way they lived and it's just like, it's not me. I can't do that anymore. I can't be a part of that. So see, I wonder about people.
You know, they say they love the Lord and they're safe, but they still hang out with people all the time. We've got intimate friends with people that are not godly people. And they don't even pretend to be, but you are real close for it. I don't know how you do that.
You know, he says, come out from the world among them love not the world of things that are in the world. Well, it'll have an impact though. Again, because of the time and effort that you spend in that relationship, they're going to influence you again, you know, to do to sway or to do something different than what you chose to originally do. That's how we form beliefs.
We form beliefs by what we are willing to expose ourselves to. It doesn't matter what it is. I don't care if you if you don't, if you think something is just just so appulsive to you that you could not ever even imagine it. Okay, and would not want anything to do with it.
I don't care what it is. You just pick a subject. But if you continually expose yourself to it, whatever it is, it will gradually work its way inside you. And you will become that very thing that you were so repulsive of and hated and refused to have any part with you will become it.
You can't help it. It will become. See, that's what Jesus said. I believe it's in where is that in the he said, he said, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
I was trying to remember where that is. I think it's the book of Luke. It is the book of Luke. I believe it is where he made that statement because the Pharisees was talking to him, you know, and getting on to him about where they're eating with their hands.
You know, they didn't wash their hands. See, they were in they they thought living a holy life was what you did externally. But Jesus let them know real quick that guys listen to me. He said, it's not what you do externally that that makes you holy or makes you evil.
He said, it's what you do internally. What's inside you? He said, because he said a good tree can not bear bad fruit and a bad tree can not bear good fruit. He said, he said, out of the abundance.
Now listen, out of the abundance of the heart, your mouth is going to speak. And that's my point is this is if you expose yourself to something long enough, it's going to get into your thought life. Once it gets into your thought life and you begin to entertain it long enough, you can't help it. It'll come out your mouth.
You'll begin to talk about it. And when you begin to talk about it, guys, listen, you will become whatever it is, whether it's good or bad. So what we're looking at here is if you want to change your life, what do you do? You change what you're exposing yourself to.
Shut it off. Get rid of the dumb thing. If your cell phone is causing you to think wrong and causing things to come into your life that cause you problems, you're rid of it. You can't live without it.
You can't live without it. Trust me. And that's what Jesus said. He said, if your eye feeds, you plug it out.
If your hand offends you, cut it off. It'd be better for you to go through life without hand without eye than it would just been an eternity in hell. He said cut it off. Get it out of your life.
Why? Because if you expose yourself to whatever it is long enough, it will influence your life and you will become what it is, even though it may not be good. You know, you will become it. But the same thing on the other side, exposing yourself to God's word and people that influence you, you know, to follow the Lord, you know, can do the exact opposite of that.
That can encourage you. You can grow God's word can begin to be the top of everything that you believe you go to it for every need that you have and get his understanding on it. And then from there, you're able to apply it and then see all of the blessings of God begin to come into every area. So it's all has to do with the decision that you make, you know, we're going to turn over 2 Corinthians chapter 4 right now.
And we're going to look at something else here because it may not just get caught up on this because it is so, so good. It's changed our lives. It's totally changed my analysis life because we decided that God's word out, God's word in it. That's it.
We don't have time for anything else. Okay, because God's word is life. I mean, in the joy and the peace and that's where that's where all that comes from and faith, you know, comes from his word. And all this is what keeps us free from all of the stuff that's in this world that wants to attach itself to you all the time and drain the life out of you and destroy your life and take your take everything from you.
We live in a destructive planet. But God has given us his spirit. He's given us the two birthies, given us his spirit. He's given us his word.
And if we will let that be the center focus of our lives, we could walk a life of victory. But guys, you're going to have now, listen, you got to be willing to come to the place that you're willing to come out of the world and to come out of all the stuff that's going on out there. You got, you got to be willing because you can't live in two worlds. You can't live in both worlds.
It will affect you in ways that you don't like. Okay, second Corinthians four and three and four, we see something here also on the subject of believing. And we see how beliefs are actually formed and how beliefs control our lives. And, and we see how why is it so hard when you think about why is it so hard for people to believe something that just makes absolutely complete logical sense.
And it is good. I mean, we've talked to people, you know, and there's some people that you can talk to. See, they're having problems, physical problems. And sometimes these physical problems can actually be terminal, whether they're either going to cut their lives short or they don't have long to live.
And you begin to share the truths of God's word. How that surely is God is willing to save all. God is also willing to heal all. And I have shared that with some people where they got actually angry with me and say, how can you dare say that?
Well, the begin with, I didn't. I'm just repeating what God's word says. You know, God's word is very clear on that subject. And you think about even the baptism of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in tongues.
And there's so many people. The vast majority of the body of Christ will not embrace that. They refuse to believe it and to accept it into their lives. And you think, I mean, they're born again.
They've got the Holy Ghost living inside them. How can they be so adamant, so determined to push that away and refuse to believe that? How does that happen? I mean, how do you get to that place?
And you can actually take them to God's word and show them in black and white. And it's so evident what the Bible says and they'll look at it and make excuses why it doesn't mean what it says. I mean, you know, if you wrote down it says, you know, my name's Johnny and I'm going to the store and you read that to him. They'd say, well, that he really didn't say it mean his name was Johnny.
His name was really something else. And he was just that was symbolic. He was talking about, you know, it's just like, it's just like they look at Facebook, I mean, just Facebook, I mean, just write it. And they can't believe it.
You're going like, it's amazing. How can you, how do you get to that place? That you can't believe, how can believing something else gets so strong in you that when you do see the truth, that you just, you just can't embrace it. Well, here we find in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verses 3 and 4, he does for us, Melissa.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. Less the lot of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them. That's amazing. There's so much truth right there.
Number one, he talks again about the gospel. So this is good news. It's not bad news. It's good news.
Everything that Jesus came to, to bear for us, he did it for our good salvation. The new birth is good. Baptism, the Holy Ghost, speaking other times is good. Healing is good.
Our God and the Lord is Jesus of Nazareth. We're about doing good and healing all that we're oppressed of the devil. And see, there's so many people out there that they struggle with that. He said, but if our good news is hid to those who are not lost, now that word lost is an important word because a lot of times we look at this verse and we totally exclude ourselves because we think, well, I'm not lost.
So my mind's not blinded. Well, that's to me. You're already blinded if you think that because none of us know everything about everything. We're all blind to something.
Now, we may have a certain amount of knowledge of things, but even the knowledge we have of things, guys, you don't know everything. There is about anything because I mean knowledge is so vast and it's so deep and you could always increase your understanding of the things that you know if you're willing to continue to expose yourself to them. But here he said, those that are lost. So there's a lot of Christians that are lost when it comes to certain things about God's word.
And he goes on and says, in whom the God of this world, little G, who is the God of this world, he tells us, the God of this world has blinded the minds of them. He says, blinded the minds of them, which believe not. Satan is the God of this world. And I notice he said, he blinds the minds of them.
Why does he do it? So they can't believe they would not believe. See, there's something about even too, when you hear the truth and what you do with it, not only does it exclude you from that truth you heard, but it's also going to cause you to be blinded from other things. See, he said, is that what he's saying?
Why were their minds blinded because they would not believe? See, they heard the word, but they chose not to accept it. They chose not to commit to it. They chose not to give themselves to it or to allow it and brace it into their lives.
And because of that now, see, because of that, there's the ripple effect of other things. How did we get to the place we are in society today that we're willing to believe? It's the ripple effect. You turn away from this.
See, and because of that, Satan blinds your minds. You're in the dark. See, when you're in the dark, you stumble over anything. When you're in the dark, you don't know what's out there and you just believe anything and everything.
It doesn't matter because it's dark. You can't see. See, that's where we are at today. This darkness is trying to take over this planet, but Melissa and I are committed to teaching the Word of God because it is not God's will for us to be in the dark.
It's not God's will for us not to know and understand what's going on around us and be able to walk in the truth and the light of God's Word. God won't say this to go out of here victorious and not defeated. Amen. Amen.
What do we need to pray for people now? Is it time? We're at that time right now. But you know, we are in this place right here.
It says that, you know, and the way that we dispelled darkness is not by getting angry and getting mad and fussing at people. We dispelled darkness by speaking the truth. See, God's Word, Jesus was a light that came into the world. And what did Jesus spend his time doing?
Teaching and preaching and healing the sick. He was the light and he came in total opposite and contradictory to everything that was going on in the religious world at that time. He became a light that entered into a world of darkness. And so, see, that's what God's Word does.
God's Word dispels darkness. Jesus Christ is the answer. He is the only answer. He is the only way to escape hell and to spend an eternity in heaven.
He is the only one that has the absolute and complete ability to heal and deliver your body in any area, deliver you from drugs. I don't care what it is. And when we commit ourselves to Him, He will deliver us from anything and everything that would bind us and hold us down. He is your answer.
He is. And the devil wants to tell you that He's not, that He's not, and that it's not important. And He wants to hold you. He wants to hold you.
But when you turn to Him and you say that simple prayer with sincerity and invite Him into your life, that hold and that power that Satan had on you is broke instantly. He can't hold you anymore. So if you're out there today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Savior, I invite you today to pray this prayer with us. Well, if you're out there and you have, but you are not living it like you should, I invite you to pray this prayer with us.
Say this with me. Say heavenly Father, I invite you into my life, the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that He is the Son of God. And that He died for me.
I accept Him today as my Lord and as my Savior. Satan, you are not my Lord. Jesus, you are my Lord. I will follow you and I will serve you all the days of my life.
And I thank you Father for filling me with the fullness of your Spirit and teaching me of your ways and of who you are. And I thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, if you were willing to pray that prayer today, your life has been totally and completely changed.
Let us know what God has done for you. And we'll see you again next time.