SPEAKER 01 : 0:08

welcome to the flatline with your host rick hughes for the next 30 minutes you’ll be inspired motivated educated but never manipulated now your host rick hughes good morning and welcome to the flatline i’m your host rick hughes and for the next few minutes please stay with me

SPEAKER 02 : 0:31

It’ll only be about 30 minutes of motivation, inspiration, education, and all done without manipulation. I say that every week, but that’s true. We don’t manipulate people. We certainly are not trying to con you into giving any money, not trying to sell you something, not trying to coerce you into joining up with any organization. We’re just trying to give you accurate information from God’s Word, the Scriptures. Hopefully we can verify and identify God’s plan for your life. If I can do that, then we pray that you would orient and adjust to the plan. I cannot tell you all the calls that I get constantly from people saying that for the first time in their life, they’re really beginning to learn what God wants them to do. Many people are Catholic or Christian or whatever, but they’re saying to me, I’m learning the scriptures. I’m learning stuff I’ve never learned before. I remind you I’m not a pastor. I’m an evangelist. It’s not my job to be a pastor, but it is my job to give you some basic Bible doctrine information and hopefully steer you or guide you to a well-qualified pastor where you can learn the scriptures and apply them into your life. If you don’t have a well-qualified pastor and you’d like to know where to listen to one, I can tell you if you’ll contact me through our website, that’s rickhughesministries.org, rickhughesministries.org. That’s where you find us on the website. And we also podcast all of our radio shows on Apple Podcast or Spotify or even Podbean. Just look for The Flot Line, The Flot Line, F-L-O-T. If you’re listening for the first time, FLOT stands for Forward Line of Troops. It refers, it’s actually a military metaphor for 10 problem-solving devices that God gives us in the Word. These 10 problem-solving devices, if you learn them, and if you will use them, they’ll stop the outside sources of adversity before they ever set up as the inside source of stress. That’s why we always say adversity is inevitable, but stress is optional. Because adversity is what circumstances do, but stress is what we do to ourself. We don’t have to live like that. There’s a wonderful, unique way to live a life without worry, without fear, without bitterness, and it’s called the Christian life. It’s the very life that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, lived, and he passed it on to us. It’s called the Christian life. I hope you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I hope you have trusted him to be your Savior. If you’ve never made that decision, I don’t know why you would put it off. Why would you gamble with eternity? please consider receiving Christ as your savior because it’s the simplest thing you could ever do. The Bible clearly says whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And millions have been saved by simply praying and asking God to forgive their sin. And they’d like to receive Jesus Christ as their savior. They believe in him and they trust him and they believe what he did. His death, his burial, and his resurrection is a guarantee that we will be resurrected. and we will have eternal life with God the Father forever and forever. It’s a wonderful thought. All right, so I hope you’ll think about that. Now the show today is going to highlight several attitudes, making some attitude adjustments we call it, dealing with essential traits that mature believers Must have. And these attitudes must be your priorities if you’re going to spend time behind enemy lines. That’s living in the devil’s world here, alive. You’re behind enemy lines because your home is not here. Your home is in heaven, the Bible says. So I hope you will use this information I give you today and examine yourself and make the correct course corrections if you need to. But never forget this, very important. You are responsible for your spiritual life and you alone. And every decision you make must be guided by divine viewpoint thinking, which is essentially the mind of Christ. The Bible tells us we have the mind of Christ in 1 Corinthians 2, 16. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. That New Testament that you hold in your hands or that Bible you have, that is the thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that’s for you to learn and think that way also. Because God’s only going to give us so much time. I mean, like me, we’re all getting up there and I don’t know what you think, how much time you got left, but Psalm 90 verse 10 tells us, The days of our years are threescore years and ten. And if by reason of what strength they be fourscore years, that’s 80, yet there is strength, labor, and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. So if you’re 70, you’ve hit the deadline, but maybe you’ll make it to 80, you’ll overshoot the runway by 10 years. So God got so much time for your life, you can’t fiddle around with that time. Take advantage of it, because time does not shout, it just runs out sooner than you think. If you’ve passed that 70 years, then you overshot the runway, like I said. But the most critical time for you is the day that you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. That is the most significant day in your entire life. In 2 Corinthians 6, 2, the Bible says, For he hath said, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation. And I have succored in thee, I protected you. Now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Succored means to provide help to someone in need. A good illustration of that would be Psalm 46, 1, where the Bible says God is our refuge. and our strength and a very present help in times of trouble. So now, it is the day of salvation. It’s the most critical day of your life today. So during the next few minutes, I’d like to highlight a few key essential traits. They’re essential in the life of any believer that wants to become a mature believer. One trait that has to be avoided at all costs is where we’re going to start today. That attitude or that trait is what we call procrastination. Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished. It’s the practice of doing something more pleasurable in place of the less pleasurable task. Or carrying out less urgent tasks instead of the more urgent task. Thus it means you’re putting off impending things to do at a later time. Can procrastination be a sin? That’s a good question, isn’t it? Can procrastination be a sin? In James 4, 17, the Bible says, therefore to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it to him, it is sin. There’s your answer. In the spiritual life, if we deliberately put off what we know is definitely the will of God, then it is certainly, most certainly a sin. Mental attitude sins come in many forms. Your intentions and your motives are all part of our decisions in making the process. But in regards to Bible study, procrastination leads to drifting off course in your spiritual life. You should decide what your priorities are gonna be today, either your spiritual life and attention to the details of your spiritual life or the lure of the world and its promises of security and happiness in the details of life. But putting off the decision of setting with your priorities will lead to a loss of confidence in yourself and in God’s plan for you since you will second guess your path in life. You’ll have a double mind. If you’re a Christian, you’ll be double minded and you’ll doubt God’s provision. Drifting off course because of procrastination Always leads to denying sound, solid doctrine in your life. In 2 Timothy 1.13, we find Paul telling Timothy, retain the standards of sound words which you have heard from me. Retain is a Greek word called echo. It means to hold fast. And that’s an imperative mood verb. It’s a command. Retain the standards of sound doctrines. Sound is healthy. Doctrine is logos, sound words. The Greek word logos, which you have heard from me in the faith. And that’s the prepositional phrase, in the faith. That’s where he does it. And love, in the faith and in love, which are in Christ Jesus. So two things he’s talking about. The faith rest drill, personal love for God. And then he says in James 14, 1-14, guard by means of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. The Greek word for treasure is thesaurus. It’s a word treasure. And you are to guard what has been entrusted to you, to keep it. And another imperative mood verb. So we have retain and guard, two imperative moods for you. If you put off your advance to spiritual maturity, What’ll happen is the rate of forgetting will exceed the rate of learning and you’ll become vulnerable to false doctrine replacing sound doctrine. Usually, unfortunately, it happens through a pastor who you trust. He’s got a mouth full of teeth and charming and witty and a good performer and you trust him, but he’s not accurate. So if you procrastinate, it leads to substitution and you will seek to fill your spiritual needs with something that’s not demanding. That’s like putting your time aside daily to study the word. That’s demanding. Spiritual growth demands time, demands effort. And if you don’t do that, you’re going to put it aside. Procrastination is your enemy. And you have to be careful. I deal with it every day, procrastinating. We all do. We have to have priorities. Another attitude that’s critical for your spiritual growth is punctuality. Punctuality. Listen to Acts 2, 46. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people and the Lord added to the church daily. Now notice, continuing daily, they had a definite routine, they were punctual. With one accord, they were all like-minded, as we say today, they were all on the same page. And what, in the temple, this is where they assembled to study the prophecies about the Messiah. They didn’t have a New Testament yet, so they were looking over the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. Breaking bread in the houses, this means they took their meals together. with gladness and simplicity of heart, which means they had the happiness of God as promised in Luke 11, 27 and 28. Praising God, thanksgiving and adoration in their life. So there we have it, thanksgiving and adoration, having favor with the people. The community took notice and the Lord added to the church daily. They were punctual doing what they’re supposed to do. Here’s a few principles about the virtue of punctuality. Listen carefully. Being punctual secures confidence and appreciation from other people that you associate with. Punctuality is critical in the military especially. That’s why they have their own time standard. And three, any pastor worth his salt will be punctual, always. And four, punctual people make the most of their allotted time. And five, punctuality demonstrates dedication or enthusiasm and consistency. And six, punctuality produces freedom from irritation and anxiety. And this is a trust area. People just don’t trust people that they can’t be punctual. They don’t appreciate anyone who is habitually late and puts others inconveniently waiting on them. In Ephesians 5, 15, the Bible says, be careful how you walk. Not as unwise men, but as wise making the most of your time because the days are evil. You must be punctual. You must have punctuality as a trait in your life as a mature believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. There’s another key trait that believers seeking to fulfill God’s plan must possess. Not only is punctuality true, but they must have patience. Paul complimented the church at Thessalonica for their patience in 2 Thessalonians 1.4. Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God. Now, what did he speak about? Listen, here it is. For your patience and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and tribulation that you endure. The psalmist wrote these words in Psalm 37, 7. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his evil way or because the man who cares out evil desires prospers. Be patient. Wait on the Lord. He’s there. Just use the problem-solving devices. You’ll be fine. But you can’t get ahead of God and you can’t get behind God. You stay in step with God. This attitude is especially critical when you’re treated unjustly or unfairly. To rest means to what? Be silent or be still. It’s much like the hunter. Listen again, Psalm 37, 7. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently. I can picture a deer hunter in the woods waiting on the deer in the game to come up. He may sit there all day waiting for that one time to get that kill shot so he can get his dinner. In the imperative mood, rest is a command to be silent or to be still. To have this type of attitude, you’ve got to use the faith rest drill. That’s the only way you can do it. It means we apply the wisdom of God’s provisions to the experience that we’re having. It’s very critical, critical when we’re treated unjustly or even unfairly. Why? Because resting in the Lord, being patient, negates your need to ever vindicate yourself due to unfair treatment. If you’ve ever been treated unfairly, I have. I’m sure you have too. We all want to vindicate ourself. We all want to say, but wait a minute now. You don’t understand. I didn’t do that. You don’t have to do that. You just wait on the Lord. Rest in the Lord. Use the faith rest drill. He can be your defense attorney. He can handle the situation for you. Here’s a principle to remember. Bitterness leads to self-vindication and vindictiveness towards other people. Bitterness leads to self-vindication and vindictiveness towards other people. So that command to wait patiently is an imperative mood verb, meaning do not try to take circumstances in your own hands. And Psalm 37.8, cease from your anger and forsake your wrath. Wrath is the word for a burning fever in your soul that is poisoning your thinking. You know, like Operation Get Even, if it’s the last thing I ever do. Sports Illustrated once wrote an article about Chicago Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson, who paid a $1,000 fine for disputing a call by umpire Joe West. The funny thing about it, on the memo line of the check that he wrote, he wrote these words, donation for the blind. Ha, ha, ha. How about that? That’s Andre Dawson writing on his check for arguing with the referee. Donation for the blind. Patience requires obedience and stamina. Galatians 6, 9. Let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season and time we will reap if we don’t faint. So you got to have patience in the mature believer’s life and not try to vindicate yourself. Another trait a mature believer must develop is priority. For the Christian, priority number one must be the spiritual life. I say that because the scriptures demand that we advance spiritually from being baby Christians to being adult, mature Christians. Listen to the admonition by the writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 5.11. of whom we have many things to say and they’re hard to be uttered seeing that you’re dull of hearing. Can’t pay attention, you can’t concentrate. That’s the worst thing in church, pastors trying to teach the word of God and people sleeping, nodding, looking at their phone, it’s sickening. For when the time is that you ought to be teachers, now you have need someone come back and teach you the very first principles of the oracles of God. And you have become such as a baby that needs a bottle and can’t handle strong meat. For everyone that needs the bottle is unskillful in the word of God. He’s a baby. But strong meat belongs to them that are full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. So the growth process that I’m talking about, making priority number one, the growth process is for you to obey three key verbs in three unique passages. Those verbs are learn, study, and grow. In Matthew 11, 29, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. Learn of me, the Lord Jesus Christ said. That doesn’t happen overnight. You have to study, 2 Timothy 2, 15. Study to show yourself approved unto God, A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, but rightly dividing the word of truth. And then in 1 Peter 3, 18, but grow in the grace and knowledge of your Lord and your Savior, Jesus Christ. So how in the world can you worship a God you don’t understand? And how can you reflect Jesus Christ if you don’t learn to think like he thought? So here’s some principles on priority. Trouble will come to the believer who does not make the word of God the number one priority in his life. Two, people emphasis must never take priority over God emphasis. Three, ruined lives are the result of wrong priorities. Four, if you don’t have time for God, why would you expect God to have time for you? You know, think about it. You haven’t talked to God in a month. You haven’t read your Bible in a month. You haven’t spent any time studying the Word of God, trying to apply the Word of God, and yet you get into a situation where you need help, and the first thing you do is run. Dear God, help me. I want you all to pray for me. What do you think, God’s a magic eight-ball genie? He’s going to pop out and make all your trouble go away. You didn’t have time for God, but you expect God to have time for you. You have one priority every day, and that’s for you to grow, learn, study. That’s your priority. And it cannot be done unless you study, unless you learn. It’s impossible. So priority number one, self-discipline, is the foundation for growing in grace. Priority number one, self-discipline, is the foundation for growing in grace. You know, it’s interesting, but circumstances will steal your time. And maybe no one ever told you this, but Satan is a time stealer. Satan is a time stealer. He will make sure you don’t have time to study. He’ll make sure you don’t have time to grow. He will steal your time if you let him. So you must set priority number one to grow in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is a key for you in your spiritual life. Another trait that’s essential for the mature believer is prudence, prudence. What is prudence? It’s the quality of being very cautious. Good judgment that allows us to avoid certain dangers in our life. Having correct knowledge about things that should or should not be done. Well, how do we determine what we do in any situation? We have to have prudence. In God’s plan, prudence is being like being faithful, faithfulness. Faithfulness is a reliability God can rely on you, it’s not just a divine characteristic, it’s for you as well. If you can rely on God, do you think he would like to rely on you? Yes. The absence of any reliability in your life or faithfulness, the absence of your faithfulness means you’re not dependable. It means you’re easily distracted or easily discouraged in your life. You don’t have prudence. You don’t have that quality of being cautious, taking care, keeping your priorities in order with self-discipline. The prudent believer, point three, will be faithful to observe and do the right things in the angelic conflict when even if nobody’s even looking. Did you know that? In Luke 12, 48, for everyone who’s been given much, much will be required. And from the one who’s been entrusted with much, even much more will be asked. So are you going to be faithful to observe what God wants you to do and do the right thing? Point four, whenever the rate of forgetting exceeds the rate of learning, then that forgetfulness fuels what? Unfaithfulness. Forgetfulness fuels unfaithfulness or lack of prudence in your life. Deuteronomy 8.11, beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his mandates, his judgments, and his statutes which I command you today. You must be prudent. You must be cautious. You must not be caught off guard. You must not let Satan steal your time. You must not be distracted, discouraged. You’ve got to have that priority, that prudence. One final key trait for the mature believer is perspective. What is your perspective? Perspective is your advance spiritually. It depends on your perspective of history and how you look at things or how you see yourself. When you look in a mirror, what do you see? There’s a poem about the man in the mirror, the man in the glass. It’s a great poem. Look it up, The Man in the Glass. You can look it up and read it. I don’t have time to do it on the show right now, but it talks about wanting to be the king for the day, and you think you are. Your advance spiritually depends on your perspective of history. or how you look at things if you see yourself. The worst thing you can see is the self-centered believer. The self-centered believer is all about himself. He has a wrong perspective in the spiritual life. The self-centered believer destroys any capacity for life he could have and destroys any opportunity for happiness that he could have because he’s so self-centered and doesn’t have his perspective right. You’re not here because God got bored and needed somebody to talk to. You’re here because God has a plan for your life. You’re here because God has a reason for you. And your job is to figure out what that plan is, what that reason is. As long as you’re behind enemy lines and you are still here, you do not need to be self-centered. It’s not about you. People come and people go, but God remains the same. It’s about you understanding what God’s plan for your life is and you having prudence and priority in your life. The only cure that I can think of for self-centeredness is a simple word called humility. Humility. It could be genuine humility or enforced humility. Genuine humility means you do the right thing by your own motivation And enforced humility means that God has to discipline you to get you to do the right thing. So which is it for you? Where does your humility come from? Is it from self-discipline in your life or is it from the discipline of God having to kick your fanny to get you to do the right thing? You must review your perspective if you wish to be an effective witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why I’m asking you, are you accurately representing him in your life? Are you? Do you have the right perspective in your life? That’s a genuine question. Do you have the right perspective in your life? And do you have the right priority? Do you have prudence in your life? Do you have patience in your life? Are you patient? That’s a key word, patient for you. And are you punctual? Do you have that punctuality attitude? And are you avoiding procrastination, staying away from that stuff? Because that’s the stuff that’ll ruin your life completely. Okay, well, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you learned something today, some alliteration for you. Alliteration means they’re all started with a P, but these are essential traits or attitude adjustments that every believer must make. I hope you’ll make them, and I hope you’ll listen and learn and apply it into your life. Remember LAG, learn, apply, and glorify, L-A-G. Thank you so much for being with me today. And thank you for every Sunday when you give me 30 minutes of your time. Again, if you want to hear more, you can always go to our podcast on Apple Podcast or Spotify and listen to the Flatline Radio Show that way. Or go to our website, rickhughesministries.org. You can hear many, many radio shows through our website and see the material we have available, all free of charge for you. So I thank you for listening today and thank you for being with me. It’s been my great honor to go into 21 years now producing this radio show. Until next week, I’m your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.

SPEAKER 01 : 27:09

Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.