Abundant Life? - Rightly Understanding John 10:10

Fighting for the Faith

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:03

All right, we're going to be doing a Patricia King gang update today, and what if I told you that Patricia King, you're about to hear her basically defending the concept of what's called the

00:15

Law of Attraction. Yeah, you've heard of the Law of Attraction, haven't you?

00:22

That's from the book The Secret, promoted by people like Oprah and others of their ilk.

00:29

Believe it or not, what you are about to hear right now is Patricia King talking about the

00:37

Gospel of John 10, verse 10, where Christ says,

00:43

I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly, and for her to then basically take that verse and pay no attention to what

00:51

Jesus is saying there and what he really means, and then turn around and defend the concept that's taught in that practically

01:04

New Age pantheistic book, The Secret, called the

01:10

Law of Attraction. No joke. I'm telling you ahead of time so that you don't bash your head against something.

01:17

And what I'm going to do in this segment is that we're going to actually take a close look at that verse that says,

01:25

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly, and it's been a while since I've done a full -blown teaching on this.

01:32

I'm going to show you from the context, which is actually requiring us to go into chapter 9, how this verse isn't teaching you what's called the

01:42

Law of Attraction that Patricia King is going to claim here in just a minute.

01:48

So seatbelts, tinfoil pyramid hats, whatever your safety devices are that you use while listening to Fighting for the

01:56

Faith, please don them now. Here's Patricia King and her video from her

02:01

YouTube channel entitled, Shut the Door of Lack. Here we go. Today, I have a message for you about overcoming lack and making sure that we don't step into it, making sure that we don't have lack in our life.

02:20

Why? Because as a kingdom child, we are not given lack.

02:26

We are, you know, that's not the zone that we live in. As kingdom children, we actually live in abundance.

02:32

Jesus didn't say that the thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I came that you would have life in its lack.

02:40

He said, I came that you would have life in its abundance. So he kind of gives us two pictures there.

02:47

One of the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. So anything in our life that looks like it's diminishing or depleting or, you know, not working out right, that's the thief that does that.

03:00

But he says, what I give you, what you can identify being me, is that which is full of abundance.

03:07

And so as believers in Christ, we are promised abundance. But sometimes...

03:13

Okay, now I'm going to stop right there. As believers in Christ, we are promised abundance.

03:21

Okay, now this is so subtle, but listen, if I had, you know, maybe a thousand dollars for every time

03:29

I've heard somebody preach this, I would be wealthier than Donald Trump. This is not what this text is teaching.

03:37

And this is an example of the devil's tactic in his second temptation of Jesus when he takes

03:43

Jesus to the top of the temple and then misquotes Psalm 91. So in order to teach this, and by the way, the subtlety here is highly nuanced, but what

03:55

I want to do is I want to teach the full context. Now I understand that I've recently taught on John 9 here at Fighting for the

04:03

Faith. Unfortunately, that does not keep me from having to do what needs to be done here, and that is to actually teach

04:11

John 9 again, as well as John 10. And the reason why is this.

04:16

Our three primary rules for sound biblical interpretation are context, context, and context. And here, the context makes all the difference in the world.

04:25

And the reason is this, is that when you get to the chapter break between 9 and 10, so you're reading chapter 9 and then you come up to the chapter break at 10, the same paragraph begins verse 1.

04:38

So it's a very bad break there between chapter 9 and chapter 10.

04:45

You've got to understand these verse apparatuses that we have that really didn't come into play until the last 400 or 500 years, they're designed to help you rapidly find passages of Scripture.

04:59

But we as modern readers oftentimes take these verses and chop up the

05:05

Scripture so that we lose context because the apparatus is getting in the way. And this is one of those texts where the apparatus is clearly getting in the way.

05:16

And so, and by the way, I'm going to have to back up the Patricia King audio so that you can see what's going on here.

05:24

So the question on the table is this. When Jesus says, I came that they have my life and have it abundantly, what does

05:32

He mean? Is He saying that Christians will not have financial lack, that that's of the devil?

05:40

Is that, that's the question that's on the table. In order to answer it, you have to have your

05:46

Bible open. I will be teaching from the ESV, John chapter 9, starting at verse 1. And yes, this entire story is critical in understanding what's going on in John chapter 10.

05:58

So here we go. So as Jesus passed by, He saw a man that was blind from birth and His disciples asked

06:04

Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, it was not this man who sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

06:17

We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.

06:24

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. So having said these things,

06:30

He spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva. Then He anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent.

06:41

So he went and washed and he came back seeing. Important point here is that this blind man has yet to see

06:50

Jesus. He's only just now received his sight and his sight was restored to him at the pool of Siloam and Jesus is no longer with him.

07:02

Okay, so he hasn't seen Jesus. So the neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who used to sit and beg?

07:12

Some said it is he, others said no, but he is like him.

07:18

So he kept saying, I am the man, I'm him. And so they said to him, well then how were your eyes opened?

07:27

He answered, the man called Jesus came and made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash.

07:38

So I went and I washed and I received my sight. So they said to him, where is he?

07:46

He said, I don't know. So they brought, they brought to the Pharisees, the man who had formerly been blind.

07:54

Now it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

08:00

So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, he put mud on my eyes and I washed and I see.

08:10

Some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God for he does not keep the Sabbath. But the other said, well, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs?

08:20

And there was division among them. So they said again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes?

08:29

He said, oh, he's a prophet. So the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight.

08:40

And they asked him, is this your son who you say was born blind? Notice that they're casting doubts on whether he was born blind.

08:48

So how then does he now see? His parents answered, we know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes.

09:03

Ask him for he is of age. He will speak for himself. His parents said these things because they feared the

09:13

Jews. Now I've told this story before and I've emphasized different parts of it. I want to key in here on this part because this is an important piece of understanding what's going on in chapter 10.

09:24

The reason why the blind man's parents give an answer that seems to be basically obfuscation, not a direct answer, is because they feared the

09:37

Jews. It's important to note this. The office of Pharisee is not an office of Scripture.

09:43

The Pharisees were self -appointed and they ruled by fear.

09:53

And they were false legalistic teachers. So they had no mandate from God, they were not sent from God, they ruled in the name of God even though they weren't sent, and fear was one of their tactics.

10:08

Let me put it this way. Let me use an example I used yesterday. In seeker -driven churches, the pastors rule on their own authority, claiming that they have received a direct vision from God and to challenge or question the vision is to find yourself thrown out of that church.

10:31

So you dare not question the vision and don't challenge the visionary.

10:37

Right? So, in a very similar way, seeker -driven pastors rule by fear because they weren't sent by God to cast vision, yet they claim to do so and to challenge them is to find yourself thrown out onto the streets.

10:57

You're going to be packing and find yourself looking for another church. Right? Okay? Similar thing going on here.

11:03

So his parents said these things because they feared the Jews and the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess

11:09

Jesus to be the Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.

11:17

Okay? Now, was Jesus the Messiah? You bet your bippy he is.

11:23

Okay? Jesus is the Messiah. Okay? But these people, these

11:29

Pharisees who were not sent by God, who have no authority granted to them in Scripture by God, have basically asserted themselves as rulers in the synagogues and you know,

11:41

I want to say church, but in the synagogue, and they had determined that if anyone confesses that Jesus is the

11:46

Christ, they are to be thrown under the bus. Got it?

11:53

Who was right, by the way? They weren't, were they? Okay? And this is critical. This is critical to understand what's going on in chapter 10.

12:02

So therefore, his parents said, he is of age. So for the second time, they called the man who had been given, who had been blind and said to him, give glory to God.

12:14

We know that this man is a sinner. He answered, hmm. So here we got the religious authorities who rule by fear, who have threatened to put people out of the synagogue if they confess

12:26

Jesus to be the Christ, even though he is. And they have determined that now Jesus is a sinner, right?

12:31

Is he? No. So they're flat out wrong. Okay? So they said, give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.

12:37

He answered, whether he is a sinner, I do not know. But one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now

12:44

I see. Now this is going to become the focal point in what Jesus is going to say.

12:49

Jesus is going to teach almost a parable, similar to a parable, using similar types of language of being blind and not being able to see versus being able to see.

13:02

And so you're going to see what's going on here. So they said to him, what did he do to you?

13:09

How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I've told you already and you would not listen.

13:15

Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? So they reviled him saying, you are his disciples, but we are disciples of Moses.

13:25

We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where he comes from.

13:31

So the man answered, why, this is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.

13:40

We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will,

13:46

God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone has opened the eyes of a man born blind.

13:54

If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

14:00

Now so here's what's going on. This guy in his infant faith, okay, right, stands up for Jesus and he schools the

14:11

Pharisees who are supposed to be experts in the law of Moses. He schools them and he's right.

14:17

His argument is dead on, absolutely spot on. But these usurpers who have not been called by God, okay, who rule by fear, who twist

14:32

God's word, okay, they are not going to be schooled by this man. No way.

14:38

They're not going to be bested by a person who was born blind because a person born blind, the reason he's born blind is because his parents sinned, right?

14:47

So they answered to him, you were born in utter sin and you would teach us.

14:53

So they cast him out. So there you go. This man who was healed by Jesus has just been thrown under the bus by the religious leaders of his day.

15:08

Wow. Unbelievable. This is the foundation for John chapter 10.

15:15

So Jesus heard that they had cast him out and having found him said, do you believe in the son of man?

15:23

He answered, and who is he, sir, so that I might believe in him? Jesus said to him, you have seen him and it is he who is speaking to you.

15:33

Look at how kind Jesus is. Not only has he healed this man, but he's there to comfort him and to give him assurance after he just got thrown under the bus by the religious leaders of his day.

15:45

You have seen him and it's he who is speaking to you. So he said, Lord, I believe.

15:51

And he worshiped Jesus. Jesus said, now this is the important part.

15:57

This is where John chapter 10, this is the beginning of what

16:04

Jesus is teaching that finishes in John chapter 10. Jesus said, for judgment, I came into this world so that those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind.

16:18

So the Pharisees are hearing this. Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and they said, are we also blind?

16:25

And Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say we see, your guilt remains.

16:33

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

16:48

So who's Jesus talking about here? Who's the thief and the robber? The one who climbs into the sheepfold by another way rather than coming through the door.

16:59

Now in a minute here, Jesus is going to say he's the door. So the point that Jesus is making, he at this point is speaking words of judgment against the

17:10

Pharisees. That's who he has in mind here when he talks about the thief and the robber.

17:16

The Pharisee, the usurper, the one who has not sent, and it's clear that they haven't been sent by Christ because they are opposing him.

17:27

They have determined that anybody who believes in him as the Messiah is to be put out of the synagogue. They have determined that anybody who's been healed by him on the

17:35

Sabbath, that that makes him a sinner, right? They're not in accord with Christ, they're caught flat out against him.

17:41

So Jesus here is talking, the thief and the robber is the false teacher, the usurper, right?

17:49

Truly, truly, verse one again, chapter 10, and this is part of an ongoing statement that Jesus is making,

17:56

I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in another way, this is like a parable, it's very similar to a parable.

18:05

That man is a thief and is a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

18:14

To him, the gatekeeper opens, the sheep hear his voice, he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

18:23

When he has brought them out, all that is his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice.

18:31

A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of the stranger.

18:37

This figure of speech, okay, interesting, the paroimia, it's like a parable, it's like a maxim.

18:48

So this is this parable Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying.

18:55

Why did they not understand what they were saying? Because they're blind, that's why they don't get it.

19:00

So Jesus tells the story, this parable, this paroimia, and they have, and they're just,

19:08

I don't understand what he's saying, okay? So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly,

19:13

I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. So Jesus here is now interpreting his little parable that he just told.

19:23

Remember his parable, he said, truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

19:34

He has, he does not have the good of the sheep in mind at all. Thieves and robbers are not interested in caring for sheep, they're interested in exploiting them, right?

19:42

So the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, so now Jesus interprets this little parable and he says,

19:49

I am the door. In other words, we can go back now and say, anyone who enters the sheepfold by another way rather than the door, rather than through Jesus, that man is a thief and a robber.

20:02

That's what Jesus is referring to here. He's warning people and in a sense judging the

20:08

Pharisees because it's clear that because they are not in the sheep pen through the door and Jesus is that door, that they're up to no good.

20:18

They're ruling by fear and edict and vision casting and putting people out for believing the truth and confessing the truth, right?

20:27

Okay. So truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, referring to the

20:36

Pharisees here, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door.

20:41

If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and I will go in and out and will go in and out and find pasture.

20:50

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

20:59

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. There's so much that I can unpack here, okay?

21:08

So much that I can unpack here. Let me continue for just a little bit more. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, okay, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.

21:22

The wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he's a hired hand, a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.

21:29

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me just as a father, and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep, right?

21:41

So you see what's going on here, okay? So when we put this in context, okay,

21:47

I'm going to point out something even more subtle here. When we put this in context, what's going on here is that the thief and the robber is the false teacher who doesn't enter by way of Jesus.

21:59

They come in through a different route. They're in the sheep pen, but they didn't come through the door.

22:06

They weren't called. They weren't sent. They're not teaching in what's in accord with Christ.

22:11

They're not preaching Christ. They're not preaching the good shepherd. Instead, they're attacking the good shepherd.

22:18

They're thieves. They're robbers. They're there to kill, to steal, and to destroy

22:26

Christ's sheep because they're not entering the sheep pen through Christ.

22:33

That's what's going on here. So when we get to the verse 10 now that says, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly, okay, what is going on there?

22:45

The Greek word is perisos, and it's an adverb.

22:52

This is important. Patricia King in her little video here switched it from being an adverb to being a noun.

23:00

That makes all the difference in the world. Jesus is not saying, I have come that they may have abundance, which would be a noun.

23:09

Then that would be the Greek word perisoteros, okay?

23:16

That would be ... Jesus is not saying, I have come that they may have an abundance noun.

23:22

No, he says, I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly, and abundantly is an adverb, okay?

23:32

Jesus is not saying that I've come that they may have abundance. I've come that they might have life, and that it would be an abundant life.

23:41

Now what is that referring to, okay? He's not promising here wealth or relief from lack, okay?

23:50

In fact, throughout the Gospel of John, if you want to get at what John is getting at here or what

23:56

Jesus is getting at here, this is one of the main themes that John teases out in the teaching of Christ, is that over and again, the

24:04

Apostle John refers to life in this Gospel, okay?

24:10

I think he mentions it no less than 36 times, and I think maybe even 40, okay? But let me read to you some of the other passages where this concept of life is taught.

24:21

The Gospel of John, chapter one, verse four, in him was life, and the life was the light of men.

24:29

John 3, 15, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten

24:38

Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3, 36, whoever believes in the

24:45

Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

24:53

John 4, 14, whoever drinks of the water that I will give him, this is Jesus saying, will never be thirsty again.

24:59

The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

25:05

John 4, 36, already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life.

25:12

See what's going on here, okay? So Jesus says, is warning here against the

25:18

Pharisees, literally the false teachers. They have not entered the sheep pen through the gate, and Jesus is the gate.

25:27

How do you know they're not in there by the gate? Because they're not teaching Christ, they're teaching themselves.

25:32

They're there to steal, to kill, and destroy. Jesus came that they may have life, that's what he wants them to have, and the abundant life thing, you can even say abundant life is a synonym that John is using here, or employing, or Jesus is employing here, because these are the words of Jesus, that Jesus is employing, that's a synonym to the concept of eternal life.

25:56

He's not promising them an abundance, which would be a noun, he's promising them life, that's the noun, and that life is abundant, it's eternal, it's forever.

26:10

It's in his kingdom, right? That's what's going on in John chapter 10, verse 10.

26:18

It is not a promise for abundance, noun, it is a promise for life, noun, that's the noun, and the word for abundantly is an adverb that's basically modifying or describing that life, right?

26:36

That's what he's promising. He's not promising abundance, he's promising life. That's the promise, and anybody who is teaching you contrary to that is twisting

26:48

God's word. Now let me back up Patricia King's statement here so that you can hear it and hear it in context and understand what's going on that she's up to, here we go.

26:57

As a kingdom child, we are not given lack, that's not the zone that we live in.

27:05

As kingdom children, we actually live in abundance. Jesus didn't say that the thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I came that you would have life in its lack.

27:17

He said, I came that you would have life in its abundance. So he kind of gives us two pictures there, one of the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

27:27

Who is the false teacher. So anything in our life that looks like it's diminishing or depleting.

27:34

No, that's not what he's saying. She changed it from an adverb to a noun, and that makes the difference of the whole world.

27:41

You know, not working out right, that's the thief that does that, but he says, what I give you, what you can identify being me, is that which is full of abundance.

27:51

No, no, again, she's turned it into a noun, and it's an adverb.

27:59

It's, I came that they might have life, life abundantly.

28:09

So as believers in Christ, we are promised abundance, but sometimes.

28:14

No, we're not. Again, she's using it as a noun, and it's an adverb. Sometimes we have to contend for that, because the enemy loves to war against what we are promised.

28:25

He's jealous of us. He doesn't like the fact that we have all this abundance. You know, he doesn't have an abundant life.

28:33

He lost everything. He had everything taken from him. All he has a promise of is eternal damnation and being thrown into a lake of fire.

28:43

I mean, that's all his hope is. But ours is, is that we have this wonderful, abundant, eternal life.

28:50

And so what we need to do is identify this realm of blessing that we have been given by God, identified as good, that we have this good life, and start believing it.

29:02

Start creating the realm of abundance. Leave lack behind. Create the realm of abundance.

29:08

Unbelievable. This is not what John 10 .10 is saying. In fact, Jesus himself is warning against the thief and the robber.

29:16

And who would be the thief and the robber? Patricia King. She's there to kill, to steal, and to destroy, because she has entered the sheepfold, not by the gate, who is

29:27

Jesus. She has entered the sheepfold on her own authority, and she's twisting

29:32

God's word. Stomp on it. Deny it. Say, I'm not going to live in lack. Lack is not my portion.

29:39

I'm going to live in abundance. So when you determine that at the core of your being, and what you believe in the core of your being is so important.

29:50

Do you believe, believe, believe, no matter what you're facing right now, is that you are a child of God, destined for abundance?

29:59

Because if you believe that, destined for abundance, again, noun.

30:05

It's an adverb. You are destined for life. You'll start to attract abundance.

30:13

What you believe in your core is what you will attract. And that, beloved, is a scientific law, that scientific law of attraction.

30:23

There it is. Scientific law of attraction. Patricia King absolutely, flat out, believes in heresy, which is not surprising to anybody.

30:32

Here it is. It's the book, the secret. It's the law of attraction. Like, you know, there's little, you know, little swirly things out there.

30:41

I don't know what all the scientific language is for it, but science doesn't teach the law of attraction. When you start believing, it releases an attraction to like substance.

30:50

So you think, oh, you know, I'm in lack, and you know, the economy's bad, and I probably won't have enough, and you know, it's just bad, you know, even whole nations are going bankrupt, and things are so horrible.

31:04

If you think that way, and meditate on those things, and have a core belief that things are going to turn out bad, and it's just the way it's going to be.

31:12

Then you're going to attract badness to you. Then you will actually attract bad to yourself, and you just can't go there.

31:19

You cannot go there. You need to determine on the core of your being if you're going to believe the word of God or not.

31:28

And he said that he came to give you life and give it in its abundance.

31:33

No, you keep switching it. He came to give us life abundantly.

31:39

It's a synonym for eternal life. Not lack. A lot of it is your

31:44

POV. Israel was out in the wilderness. They thought they were having this horrible time.

31:50

POV. POV. Um. Oh, the wilderness. Oh, the wilderness experience.

31:57

Oh, sorry. Point of view. Sorry. I knew I heard that somewhere before. And yet they were living under an open heaven.

32:05

They were living on, you know, in a state like heaven on earth. I've shared in other clips about that, but you know, they had bread coming down out of heaven every single day.

32:16

They were offered food. The women didn't have to cook it. The men didn't have to work for it. It was given from heaven every single day.

32:23

They had water coming out of the rock, whatever they needed, they had. They had an invitation by God.

32:29

Every single one of them had an invitation to go out to the tent of meeting and God would speak to them face to face as a man speaks to a friend.

32:38

As far as I know, we only see a record of two of them actually going into that tent. The rest of them, even though they had an invitation, they stood in their tent and just watched

32:46

Joshua and Moses get blessed by God. You know, they were probably bawling and squalling and thinking, oh, I wish

32:52

I could be blessed like that. I just have a lack of the anointing. And yet they could have gone in and had those encounters with God.

33:00

They were led by a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. Oh my gosh, you know, they were visited by God every single day and yet they had a

33:10

POV that it was bad. And so they went around and around and around and around and around in the wilderness for 40 years, never entering into their promised land because they didn't believe in the promise that God had given them.

33:26

They had just a bad perspective. You cannot afford to have a bad perspective in this day.

33:32

You have been promised abundance, not lack. Leave lack behind. Put a put a line in the sand and say, that's it for me.

33:40

I'm going after the promise of God. I'm going to decree the promise of God every day. I'm carving out for myself and my family.

33:47

And all of this is based on a false reading of John 10. Law of attraction, by the way, is not a biblical teaching.

33:55

Let me play for you something that should sound eerily similar to what you hear Patricia King going on about right now and also what

34:04

Joel Osteen preaches regularly, you know, in fact, in his, I Declare book and things like that here.

34:12

Listen in. I'll tell you the source in a second. Most of us think about what we want for the future, but some folks are actually putting it all down on paper.

34:19

They're creating what's called vision boards to help manifest their dreams. Now, the vision borders say that the boards help them get ahead, help them change careers, even fight disease and find the happiness that they desire.

34:30

So we met up with them to hear their stories. Well, these women may look like they're doing arts and crafts, but they're actually hard at work crafting their futures.

34:43

We're going to manifest miracles in our life and we don't want to settle for any less than miracles.

34:49

They're each creating what's called a vision board using art to visualize their goals and their dreams. It can help anyone because everyone has aspirations in their life.

34:58

Everyone has dreams. They want to better themselves. They want to have more money. They want to have a career, a better career in perfect health.

35:10

We sat in on a vision board class taught by Dr. Susan Shumsky. She's the author of Miracle Prayer. Most of us, if we are thinking about the future, we're only using one side of our brain, the linear.

35:21

That's right. That's right. Dr. Shmansky. Shumsky. I can't pronounce it.

35:27

Anyway, this is all about vision boarding, creating your future, and she's written a book called Miracle Prayer.

35:32

The other side of our brain or the left brain, but when we have a picture of it, it's easier for us to focus on it and manifest it.

35:40

So it's a very, very effective way of creating your future. Okay. Now let me read to you her biography.

35:47

Okay. All right. Now, does anyone after listening to that go, boy, that sounds so, so much like what

35:54

Patricia King is saying. You know, you gotta, you gotta vision, speak abundance and declare and decree these things.

36:01

They're just doing declaring and decreeing by doing vision boarding, you know, and fulfilling your goals, whatever those,

36:07

I'm going to read her biography in a second, goals may happen to be. So I have a lot of pictures of homes because sometimes

36:13

I'm experiencing the crunch of space. I put myself performing in front of a very large audience.

36:19

All the images in here are about the key words for me, which are connection, freedom, and joy. Well, some women are even vision boarding their way to good health.

36:27

I have been diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. So I'm creating a vision board that is going to focus on being in perfect health and conquering this disease.

36:36

Well, I was diagnosed with MS about two months ago and it's been a bit of a shock.

36:42

So I had dealing with numbness and no feeling in the hands, feet. So this is all about like none of that being an issue, just sort of just being free.

36:52

It's been done since the caveman era. Joyce Schwartz authored the book, the vision board, the secret to the extraordinary life.

36:58

It's a map of your life that you'd like to live. Maybe what you want is a better relationship with your family.

37:04

Sounds like the dream mapping thing we heard yesterday. Or you want to have a travel or you want a sense of peace in your life.

37:11

And best of all, you don't have to be a great artist to make one. Get some magazines and look at some images that really inspire you and start to cut them out and put them on on the table.

37:21

And soon you too will start visioning a better future. We all deserve to have the best. We deserve to have what our real dreams are.

37:30

So there you go, Dr. Shumsky. Let me read her biography here, partway through her biography.

37:37

By the way, you can find her website at divinerevelation .org, divinerevelation .org.

37:45

Here's what it says, for 22 years, Susan's study, this would be Susan Shumsky, studied in the

37:51

Swiss Alps, the Himalayas, and around the world under the direct guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, guru of the

37:59

Beatles and Deepak Chopra. She served on Maharishi's personal staff for seven of those years.

38:06

For another 20 years, she led the way in new thought and metaphysics as a doctor of divinity.

38:13

Since 1970, Dr. Shumsky has thrilled thousands worldwide with her dynamic teachings of meditation, intuition, yoga, and spiritual enlightenment.

38:22

As a true new thought pioneer, she has done about 500 speaking engagements and over 400 media appearances since her first book was published, including

38:31

Coast to Coast AM with George Norrie and other places. She is the founder of Divine Revelation, a complete technology for contacting the divine presence and listening to the inner voice.

38:46

Well, I can't detect any teaching different from what

38:52

Dr. Shumsky teaches from what Patricia King teaches and Joel Osteen teaches and the dream boarding thing, a dream mapping thing that we heard yesterday and stuff like that.

39:05

Weird. It makes you almost think that Patricia King and Joel Osteen aren't actually teaching biblical

39:11

Christianity, instead are teaching something that's more akin to the New Age, you know, vis -a -vis the book

39:18

The Secret and the so -called Law of Attraction. It's not biblical. It's not Todd and John 1010.

39:25

This is most certainly true. All right. Now, I've gone way long on this segment.

39:30

It didn't even take a break. We're going to take a break and when we come back, we're going to do our sermon reviews. I'll save the other segment for Monday's edition of Fighting for the

39:38

Faith, Should the Lord Allow Me to Live Through the Weekend. Lord permitting. Lord allowing.

39:43

Anyway, so we're going to take our first break and then we'll do our sermon reviews.

39:50

If you'd like to email me regarding anything you've heard on this edition or any previous editions of Fighting for the

39:56

Faith, you can do so. My email address, talkbackatfightingforthefaith .com, or you can ask to be my friend on Facebook.

40:01

It's facebook .com forward slash piratechristian, or you can follow me on Twitter, my name there at piratechristian.