In this enriching episode of The Flatline, Rick Hughes shares insightful teachings on the dangers of the cosmic system and the importance of spiritual resilience. As Rick candidly discusses personal anecdotes and biblical stories, he provides a roadmap for young believers to navigate through spiritual adversities. With lessons drawn from the Bible, listeners are encouraged to reject worldly distractions and embrace the wisdom of God’s Word. Tune in for an inspiring journey of discovering one’s path to spiritual fulfillment and peace.
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.
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Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please, please stay with me. It’s going to be a time of motivation, some inspiration, some education, some Without any manipulation or even any solicitation. That’s right. No requesting for money. No asking you to join up, fess it up, give it up. Nothing like that. This show is designed primarily to give you accurate information. Information that is designed to help you verify as well as identify God’s plan for your life. And if I’m able to do that, you can orient and adjust to the plan. That’s up to you. But my job is to get it accurate, to get it straight, and to give you an encouragement in your life. Thank you for listening. So many people across the country I meet daily on a consistent basis that tell me they’re listening to the Flatline and how the Flatline has guided them in their life to eventually get under the ministry of a well-qualified pastor where they can begin to learn God’s Word and grow on a consistent basis. Again, I remind you, I’m not a pastor. I’m just an evangelist, but my job is to spark your interest. My job is to give you the gospel good news information, the fact that Christ died for your sin, paid the penalty for your sin, and you, in effect, have been freed from the slave market of sin by faith alone in Christ alone. That’s why the Bible tells us in Titus 3, 5, not by works of righteousness, which we’ve done, But according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord. And listen now to the next part. Being justified by his grace, not by our works, by his grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. So we have eternal life through Christ by faith in Christ, finished work on the cross. That alone, not by any good works, not by any giving, not by any membership, not by anything like that, simply by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Once you become a member of the family of God, the trick is to grow in the grace and the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to become wise, to grow up, not to stay a baby believer. And baby believers, I think the writer of Hebrews had something to say about that in Hebrews 5.11 where he said, you’ve been a Christian a long time now and you ought to be teaching others, but you’re not. You’ve gone back to where you need a bottle like an infant. You can’t handle a steak. And so he admonishes them for their lack of spiritual growth. Any believer in Jesus Christ must grow spiritually. The Bible mandates this. Grow in the grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a mandate. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth is a mandate. And so this is critical. It’s critical in the life of an adult, critical in the life of a young person. This series that I’m doing right now called Life’s Toughest Years. We’re going to do five lessons on this. And we’ve taught this in a local school where we visited and spent a week with these students in a private school in Mississippi. And now we’re beginning to put this into a book, and we’re going to make this book available free of charge called Life’s Toughest Years. And so we want to continue this study today dealing with the adversity that teenagers face as they grow up. Remember, God gave you two ends. One to sit with and one to think with. And success in life depends on which end you use. It’s heads you win and tails you lose. So you’ve got to think your way through life. You can’t sit your way through life. And always, always, always there’s the lure, the lure of the cosmic system. The cosmic system is the devil’s world. It’s what the devil has out there. It looks like a mirage. It looks like the real thing, smells like the real thing, but it’s not the real thing. You know, two men in the desert and they’re thirsty and they have no water and they climb over the top of a sandbar and say, oh, look. There’s a pool of water at the bottom and they take off running and it’s not there. The cosmic system offers you happiness in people, happiness in circumstances, but it’s not there. It’s a lie. It’s the lie of the devil. And so people who get into the frantic search for happiness wind up following the lie. Now, oftentimes teenagers will do this. Young people will do this. I did it in my life, my very own life. I know this for a fact. This frantic search for happiness, somebody to love me, somebody to care about me, that I’ve got to have a job, I’ve got to make some money, I’ve got to have this, I’ve got to have that, everybody else has got it, why don’t I got it? I know that’s not good English, but you know what I’m saying. The got it, got to have it, got to have it crowd. The frantic search for happiness in the life of a confused teenager. is the lure of the cosmic system. We see this in the Bible in Luke 15, where our Lord Jesus Christ, the anointed Son of God, taught this parable. I’ll read it to you. Then he said, this is Jesus, a certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with riotous living. Now, I don’t know what riotous living was, but I’ve got some great ideas. But here we have in verses 12 and 13 of Luke 15, two sons, an older son and a younger son. I think it’s obvious they didn’t get along. I think it’s obvious as you read the passage that the older son nitpicked the younger son, maybe bullied him. And the younger son had had about all of it he wanted to have. He didn’t see any future for him there working for his older brother. He wanted his share of the inheritance now. And so he took his one-third. The older got two-thirds. He took his one-third, and I think there may be, just may be, I’m probably reading into the passage, but there may be an invisible friend, you know, a friend that says, hey, you got some money, and I know a place we can go have a good time, so I’ll go with you. You got the money, I got the time. A lot of people are like that. If it’s free, it’s for me. And so maybe this invisible friend told him where there was a town they could go and they could have some riotous living, whatever that meant. You, like me, have your own ideas about it, but probably what you’re thinking is probably true, what he did. So the Bible says when he spent all, in other words, he went down to this town and he blew every nickel. Now this is not unusual. I heard a story years ago about a man who invented a famous rifle and he sold the patent for $80,000 cash. And he didn’t have a lot of discipline, and one night in New York City, he blew the $80,000 cash on riotous living, the same thing this kid did. And so the Bible says when this kid had spent all that he had, he didn’t have any more money, a severe famine happened in the land, and he began to be in want. That’s another way of saying he was extremely hungry. So then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. I imagine he begged for food for a while, but nobody gave him anything to eat. So he realized he’s going to have to get a job. So he actually went and got a job with a citizen of that country. Now, these are not Jews. These are Gentiles because they’re raising pigs. And so we know that this is not a Jewish family. This is a Gentile family. So he takes a job slopping the hogs. And the Bible says the Gentiles sent him into the field to feed the pigs. In verse 16, Luke 15, and he would gladly have filled his stomach with the slop that the pigs ate because nobody gave him anything. Now you got to be in bad shape when slop stops looking pretty good to you. It reminds me of what we see in America every day. People dumpster diving, going around behind restaurants, diving in the dumpsters. People that are homeless and it’s not always their fault. Sometimes there are unmitigating circumstances, but a lot of times it’s just because they don’t want to work and don’t want to have a job and don’t want responsibility. Maybe they blew all their inheritance and now they’re trying to find some food. Who knows? But this kid was eyeing the slop seriously, thinking that looks better than the dirt I’ve been eating. So he came to himself, the Bible says in Luke 15, 17. This means that he had an attitude adjustment. He came to himself. This means instead of being arrogant with an unrealistic self-image, Now because of a series of bad mistakes and bad judgment, he has some humility. This is not genuine humility, this is enforced humility. By means of divine discipline, God humbled this kid. So he came to himself, and this is what he said, Luke 15, 17 through 19. How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough to spare, and I am dying from hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. This, ironically, is the same thing Christians have to do when we sin. We have to go to our Father and admit our sin. It’s problem-solving device number one in the flatline of your soul. Rebound, confessing your sin. That’s why the Bible says if we confess our sin, then he, that’s God, is faithful and just to forgive us and to purify us from all of our wrongdoing. So this young man was in effect rebounding, going to his father as a result of the divine discipline in his life, He had been brought to a place of humility and he knew that he had one or two choices, die or go home and admit his sin to his father. And so he was willing to just go back and work as a servant because he knew that there was security and comfort and food And his father took care of the servants. He knew that. And that’s what he wanted to do. So in Luke 15, 20, he arose and came to his father. This means he just got up, quit the job. See you later. I’m out of here. Sayonara. And he went home. And the Bible says when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. You know, what I imagine happening here is one of the servants telling the father, there’s a beggar coming up the road. Should I run him off? He has no shoes. He’s filthy. Should we get rid of this man, sir, and tell him to go on down the road? And the father looked and said, no, no, no, that’s my son. That’s not a beggar. That’s my boy. And the Bible says he had compassion and ran and hugged his neck and kissed him. And the boy said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Now, the father didn’t whack him. The father didn’t deck him. The father didn’t tell him he was an idiot for blowing all his money. He just loved him. Remember this, I don’t care what you’ve done. I don’t care how gross the sin is. If you go to your Father, your heavenly Father, and confess your sin, he will love you. He still loves you. You turned your back on him, he didn’t turn his back on you. He’s just been loving you from behind. But he still loves you, and if you’re alive, God still has a plan for your life. You may think that you’re not in the plan, but you are. This kid thought that he was no longer worthy to be called a son, that he just should be a servant. But verse 22 says, the father said, uh-uh, no, no way. Bring out the best robe. and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. So they cleaned him up. They gave him a bath. He didn’t even have shoes. He didn’t have any clothes, just tattered clothes. Probably hadn’t washed them in several weeks. And his father cleaned him up, put on a robe, put sandals on him, put the signet ring on his hand. And then the father said, bring out the fatted calf and kill it. And let’s eat and be merry for my son was dead and he’s alive again. He was lost and now he’s found. And they began to be merry. They began to have a party. This is exactly what God does for you. When you return to your heavenly father, he will do this for you because you’re going to be lured many, many, many young people into are going to be lured just like this. This is a critical time in a teenager’s life when he has to decide, am I going to follow the cosmic system or will I stay with divine viewpoint? Will I stick with what the word of God says? Let me give you some principles. One, this young man went down the my way highway. You know, you’ve been on it before. You know, the Lord said, do not do it. And you said, I’m going to do it anyhow. And you went on the my way highway. This young man probably had an invisible friend who encouraged him and probably went with him. And point three, his home life must have been miserable due to his older brother’s self-righteousness. And point four, Satan used the cosmic system to lure him out of his father’s will, to make him think that he could go on down to my way, highway, and he would find happiness there. Here is a truth you must learn. Unhappy people take their unhappiness with them wherever they go. Did you hear that? Here’s some other principles. How to identify the cosmic system, the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times, the lie that Satan perpetuates. One, the cosmic system is Satan’s strategy as the ruler of this world to control believers and unbelievers. If he can control the way you think, he can control what you do. So it’s always a battle for your mind. That’s why the Bible says, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. Who thought it not robbery to equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, Philippians 2, 5, 6, and 7. He humbled himself, made himself like a servant. This cosmic system, point two, has two separate points of attack. One, Satan will exploit Christians because of their own arrogance. And this kid, we’ll assume he was a Christian. He was in the family. This is an illustration of a believer who’s in a family who thinks he’s been lost to the family and no longer worthy to be a son. He found out he was wrong. God doesn’t take back what he gives you. He said, I give unto them eternal life and they will never perish and neither shall any man ever pluck them out of my Father’s hand. My Father which gave them to me is greater than all and no one can pluck them out of my Father’s hand. So Satan exploits Christians by means of their own arrogance, the lure of the cosmic system. And the second set of attack here is Satan’s propaganda by which he educates and promotes antagonism towards the grace of God. And this is abundant in our world today with humanism, progressivism, all sorts of isms that are going on today. You can find Christians taking more and more and more of a slap in the face. People laugh at you. They think you’re weird because you’re one of those holy rollers. You believe the Bible, and they will call you every name in the world. This is Satan’s propaganda to win the mind of the lost man. to convince him that Christians are over the top and goofy. So point three, the target of the cosmic system, that’s the first one, exploiting Christians by means of their own arrogance, that target is you, you. And he will appeal to your arrogance to divorce you from the reality and the plan of God for your life. If he can get you thinking that you could be happier somewhere else, If he can pull you away from the word of God, he will do it. The target in Cosmic 2, the propaganda where he educates and promotes antagonism, is the Bible. Because only by learning and applying the Bible do you have any chance at all of becoming victorious in this angelic conflict. You must learn the Bible. That’s why you have the mandates. That’s why Jesus said, take my yoke and learn of me. My burden is easy. My yoke is light. So you must remember this. You might come under some demon influence where your mind is invaded with satanic propaganda, but you will never be demon possessed because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. God, the Holy Spirit lives in you. You’re not going to be demon possessed, but You can be lured into the cosmic system. Listen to 1 Timothy 4.1. The Spirit says, in the latter times, some will depart from faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. That’s the lure of the cosmic system. That’s the truth the cosmic system offers. The Bible warns you not to be lured like this if you’re a teenager. You cannot afford to let that happen. In 1 John 2, 15 and 16, don’t love the world. Don’t love the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Verse 16, for all that’s in the world, The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, that’s not from the Father, but it’s of the world. It’s that arrogant lie, that mirage that tells you if you just had the right girl, you’d be happy. If you just had the right guy, you’d be happy. If you just had the right job, you’d be happy. If you just lived in the right place, you’d be happy. That’s all a lie because happiness doesn’t depend on circumstances. The truth is, Jesus said, happiness belongs to those people who hear my Father’s word and keep it. So the issue is, where do you get your direction in life? Who influences you? Is it from the cosmic system by means of your own arrogance? Or is it by means of God’s word where you have some humility? You know, teachability requires humility, and you’re never going to learn anything without some humility. When’s the last time you sat down under a well-qualified pastor with a Bible and a notebook and you actually took notes and went home and read your notes? Try to apply this into your life. If you just go to church and show up and you sit on the back row or the middle row, you don’t take a note. You don’t even take a Bible. You just sit there with a goofy grin on your face. You’re kidding yourself. You’re not going to remember even a third of what the pastor said, much less apply it. God is waiting on you to get serious about the Christian life. He’s waiting on you to come to a point in your own soul where you now are frustrated with the cosmic system. You are frustrated with what the world offers and you’re willing to go that extra mile to learn God’s word and you are willing to apply it into your life. Listen to James four. This is verses six through eight. But he, that’s God, He gives more grace. Therefore, he, God says, he says, God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Now that doesn’t mean you gotta walk around like a squashed bumblebee. That’s not what we’re talking about. It’s an attitude of authority orientation. respecting the authority of your heavenly father, respecting the authority of his word in your life. That’s the grace that God is looking to give to. If you have that sort of humility in your life, if you’re willing to lay it all on the line for the word of God, then the Bible says in James 4, 7, submit to God and resist the devil. He’ll flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded people. Double-minded is in the Greek language. It’s a dual soul. You can’t live two roles in your life. You’ve either got to be with it or without it. You’re either in it or out. As far as the Christian life goes, you can’t walk down the middle here. You can’t have one foot on church and one foot on second base over there. Either you’re going to grow in grace, you’re going to be the man or the woman God designed you to be, or quit playing games and acting religious and trying to fool everybody. That doesn’t work. So only when you have enough humility to line up with the plan of God, to stay filled with God’s Holy Spirit, problem-solving device number one and two, only when you develop the faithless drill, problem-solving device number three, and come to the place of having a personal sense of destiny that God can begin to pour out in your life more grace than you can handle. And I’m not talking about some prosperity doctrine. If you’re waiting on God to help you win the lottery, good luck. Not going to happen. But if you want God to give you peace, if you want God to give you purpose, if you want God to give you a destiny in your life, that’s what I’m talking about. So draw near to him. Cleanse your hands. Rebound. Purify your hearts. Take in the word of God. Get rid of the scar tissue in your soul, you double-minded disucos, you two-souled individual. It doesn’t work when you’re like that. How did our Lord handle the temptations of Satan? Do you know what he did? Well, if you read Matthew 4, 1 through 11, you’ll see where he was tempted three times. And you will see where every time he was tempted, he quoted scripture. He said, it is written, it is written, it is written, it is written. And Satan had no answer, no answer. Eventually, Satan left him. And Satan will leave you when you can bathe your life in the scripture of the word of God. Matthew 4, 1 through 3 says, Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights and he was hungry, the tempter came to him and said, if you’re the son of God, command these stones to be bread. Jesus wouldn’t do it. He said, it’s written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. This was a time of testing for our Lord. The Holy Spirit led him to this place. 40 days without food? Man, there’s a TV show called Naked and Afraid. They go 21 days without food and they about die. 40 days without food? In the weakest moment of his life, Satan comes and says, turn that rock into bread. Or jump off this building. Prove to me that you’re really God. Every time that he did that, Jesus would quote scripture and scripture and scripture. Finally, in verse 10 of Matthew 4, away with you, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and only him shall you serve. And so Matthew 4, 11 says, the devil left him. And behold, angels came and ministered to him. There are angels assigned to you, ministering spirits. They have your name, your address on their GPS. They know where you are. And their job is to provide for you in time of need. Sometimes we call them guardian angels, but they’re there for you. And if you will learn God’s Word and apply God’s Word and live it, your guardian angel is going to be high-fiving you all the way down the road of your life. Think about this. Don’t get lured into the cosmic system. Don’t blow everything in a frantic search for happiness. Don’t listen to the lie of the invisible friend who tells you it’s actually more fun over here. Stay home. Deal with the pressure. Submit to the authority of the Father. and let God handle the rest. That’s the answer. That’s what you must do if you want to have a meaningful and full life. I hope you’ve been listening, and I hope you’ve been paying attention. It’s always a great honor to bring the Word of God to you. So until next week, this is your host, Rick Hughes, host of The Flotline, saying thank you for listening today.
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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.
