Fix Your Eyes on Jesus – Episode 76

 Topics in this episode: 

  • In the middle of a world wide pandemic and civil unrest that has gripped both our country and the world, I want to take this opportunity to remind people of faith to make sure their focus is not pulled away from Christ. As a result, I thought I would use this podcast to get in the Bible and encourage you to hold fast to the Lord.

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Fix Your Eyes on Jesus Episode 76

00:00:01 – 00:05:03

Praise the Lord and pass the munition. It’s time for the gun guide TV podcast. This Joel Persinger I’m the Gun Guy Thank you very much for all of your support of Gun Guy TV of this podcast and everything you do to help me keep this. Going I’m very very grateful for what you do now. If you’d like to support the PODCAST, one way you can do that is by using our Amazon link, so you can go to our website at gun guide, dot TV, and then on the top of the website. There’s a little banner there for Amazon. If you click on that banner, it will take you to the Amazon website, but it takes you there through our. Affiliate account and that way, if once you’re at the Amazon website that way if you bookmark that Amazon page and go back to that page each time you shop Amazon then we’ll get a little credit. It’s a marketing feet doesn’t cost you anything, but it does help outgun guy. TV, so please use our Amazon link to shop Amazon now as usual. The first part of this podcast is going to be. Be publicly available on your favorite podcast player, and we will of course post a video version. If you will on Youtube and the other video platforms in case you’d like to consume it there. That’d be great, but you can also hear an IHEART radio and I dunno stitcher and Google podcast, and so on. There’s lots of places where you can consume it if you’d like to do it that way. All right. I’m going to warn you here because. As. You may know if you listen to my podcast. Watch my channel. I’m a Christian and I don’t hide that and neither do I. Apologize For it Jesus said you don’t take light and hide it under a bowl, but instead you you put it up on a stand so that it like the whole house so as a result, I don’t hide my Christianity in fact on. On my channel on Youtube and the other video places, and certainly on this podcast I mentioned it from time to time and sometimes I actually get in the Bible and we talk about different lessons in the Bible, I tend to do that when I’m led to do it by the spirit, I feel spirit led to it and also I’ll tend to do it when I. I see that people are really struggling with what’s happening in our country, and they need some encouragement, and that’s kind of what I’m feeling today, said Shit, Sunday, the fifth of July the day after the fourth of July Independence Day. I thought Sunday’s a great time to do that. So that’s what I’m going to do with the first part of this podcast I want to. To warn you now that in this first half of the podcast I’m going to get in the Bible with you and hopefully encourage you now. If you don’t WanNa, hear Biblical scriptures, or you don’t care about that. The now’s your opportunity to stop listening and listened to the next episode when I do it here in a couple of weeks if you want to do that. All right if you’re still with me I assume that you want to hear what I have to say. It’s a wise thing I. think when you look at the world and she looked. World is coming apart at the seams, or at least you feel like it is. If you watch the News, look social media enough. You’ll feel like everything is about to crumble. I, don’t really think it is, but you’ll feel like it is. It is a wise thing to prepare for emergencies. I think it’s a wise thing to do that anyway. Because we have earthquakes and floods and storms and fires and other kinds of natural disasters that hit on a semi regular basis, actually so it’s a really good thing to have extra food in the Pantry, emergency water, and and other provisions like that, maybe some medical provisions and that kind of stuff, and then ability to defend them. and. Keep people from taking them from you. Those are all great things. And if you have watched my channel at all, or you’ve listened to this podcast at all, or you are a member, Patriot on. You know that I do a lot of that. We kind of preference in this house. In a weird sort of way, we have all kinds of preparations available, and that’s why when covid nineteen hit. People were racing around trying to find toilet paper. We didn’t have to worry about that because we had prepared. For. Those kinds of things in advance and I think that’s wise to do as a result, we have all those preparations in place. Certainly we can defend those things. We have firearms. We have armor. We have ammunition. We have all that stuff. But there’s a difference between being prepared for emergencies and the idea of a survivalist term survivalist has always crack me up and don’t get me wrong. I’m not picking on people who call themselves survivalist I’m just pointing something out, and what I’m pointing out to you. Is that in life? Nobody survives. Show. None of us are survivalist. Nobody survives the interesting thing that happens in the progression of things. This is going to sound like I’m being flippant. Which I’m not but I think sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. This is how it works. You’re born. And then you live for a time. And then you die. Now you don’t get to pick where you were born or when you were born and. Unless you do yourself in you. Don’t get to pick where you’re GONNA die when you’re.

00:05:03 – 00:10:06

GonNa die. It’s that’s that’s GonNa happen when it happens. You’re born into the time you’re born in. You’re born into the family. You’re born. You’re born into the country or the area that you’re born, and you’re going to die at some point and when you do unless you commit suicide. You’re going to die in God’s good time, and in whatever way that may be, so nobody gets to the end of this life. And survives. You might be able to survive for a time, but this funny thing called death is going to catch up with you at some point or other. So the idea that we’re survivalist to me, has always struck me as being a little silly preparing for emergencies, preparing for things like the world financial system to collapse. Those are things that I. think it’s worthwhile preparing for, but you’re not going to survive life. You’re going to die. Okay, so I think at some point. We have to prepare for that eventuality. It’s an interesting thing to when you get sucked into the news, and you get sucked into social media, and you become so focused on prepping or so focused on the fact that a disaster may come. You stop living life. You forget that life is an adventure to be lived. And even during difficult times it’s an adventure to be lived. It’s not something that we go and hide in the corner and cower in the corner. Prepare for the worst. Yes, I think it’s good to prepare for the worst, but let’s hope for the best shall we and let’s go out and live life. To the full. How about that? I WANNA share with you in the book of Hebrews. Some things that I. Hope Encourage you today if you’re a person of faith, and even if you’re not a person of faith I think you might find them encouraging, so I’m GonNa go through Hebrews here and before I even start. Let me explain to you that. Hebrews is an interesting book in the Bible all the Bible. Books are interesting, but Hebrews is an interesting book, because it’s focused, is Jesus, even though it talks about a whole lot of other things, but if you were to take the book of Hebrews and just boil it down a little bit, it’s really a book that says Jesus is better. Jesus is better better than everything else, and so it talks about the angels. The angels are awesome, and they’re powerful, and they’re amazing and so on, but. Jesus better and Moses was awesome and powerful and amazing and so on, but. Jesus is better as you read through the book of Hebrews. To See and Hebrews then calls us back to our faith in Christ to focus on him, not angels not principalities, not government, not any of those other things, but instead to fix our eyes and fix our thoughts on Jesus. In fact, Hebrews three one says therefore holy brothers and sisters who share in the heavenly calling. Fix your thoughts on Jesus who we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. And in Chapter Eleven Hebrews. The writer actually goes through something that is very encouraging. He talks about faith, and what is faith, and here’s some examples of people who were faithful during very challenging time, so I’m going to go through that for you real quick. Hopefully you’ll find it encouraging because right now. You and I are living in very challenging times, aren’t we? So Hebrews eleven verse one says now faith is confidence in what we hope for an assurance about what we do not yet see. We hope for, but we don’t see it. And such. We hope for it even though we don’t see it. And we believe it’s coming that faith, and in verse two. It says this is what the ancients were commended for. For example, it lists whole bunch of them. Birth Street says by faith. We understand that the universe was formed at God’s. So that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God, a better offering than Cain did by faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offering, and by faith able still speaks even though he is dead. By Faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experienced death. He could not be found because God. Had taken him away for before he was taken, he was commended as one who please God and without faith. Is it impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him by faith Noah when warned about things, not yet seen in holy fear Bilton Arc to save his family by his faith, he commended the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. By faith. Abraham, when call to go to a place, he would later receive as his inheritance obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going by faith, he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country.

00:10:06 – 00:15:12

He lived intense as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise? For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, who’s architect and builder is God? And by faith even Sarah who was past childbearing age was able to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise? And, so from this one man, and he as good as dead came to send it says numerous as the stars in the sky, and his countless as the sand on the sea shore. All these people were still living by faith. When they died, they did not receive the things promised. They only saw them and welcome them from addition should admitting that they were foreigners strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country, they have left. They would have had opportunity to return instead. They were longing for a better country. Heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for. He has prepared a city for them. The opinions expressed by the. Always bright unless they’re all. Right now if you listen to the talking heads on the news or you listen to the talking heads I guess I’m one of them Sir so to speak on Youtube or whatever you will hear that more and more people are joining militias now. Personally I don’t think there’s anything wrong with joining militia, but more and more people are joining militias under joining militias because they feel. They got to be part of a group because they won’t make it if they’re not. Because they see other people joining militias on one side or the other of the argument, and I feel like if I’m going to survive, I better be a part of one of these so I’m GonNa. Join the one that closely aligned with the way that I believe so that I can defend myself and other people defend me against the people who maybe don’t believe the way I do. and. That makes a lot of sense. But to one thing they’re not joining in many cases is church. You may remember the just a few minutes ago. I reminded you that nobody survives life. Were born. We live for a time and we die. And no matter how many guns I have, how much munition I have! How much armor I have! How much food and water and medical supplies on all these other things I have no matter which militia join no matter what I do in my life, no matter how hard I think I’m going to work at this, and how dedicated I become at it. I’m not going to survive life. There’s going to come a time when I won’t be here anymore. That is also the case for my wife, my children, my children’s children, children’s shoulders, shoulders, children, and on and on and on. So is it good to do all of those things? Yes, but don’t think it’s going to save you because it’s not. You’re going to die. We all do and I. Don’t mean to depress you with that, but I wanNA. Bring you back if you’re a person of faith to faith. This morning. My wife and I taught a lesson for our Bible Group on marriage. Because we’re we try to help them. Marriage couples and one of the things I explained to them was that. In, the hierarchy of things as delineated in the Bible, my relationship with God is i. my relationship with my wife comes after that my relationship with my children come after that my relationship with my immediate family members come after that mom, you know grandma, whatever and then my relationship with the people in the church after that and then my relationship to the loss, we would call the loss. People who are not Christians come after that we hope that we can bring them to Christ and as long as I maintain that connection in that way it works, but when I mess those up. When I start making my connection to God I in my connection to my God, my my job second and then my wife is a kind of a addition. Third everything starts to fall apart which important that we keep these things in view. In your preparation to pro to make sure that your family is safe and well fed and all these other things. You must remember. That your first priority is your relationship to God and your family’s relationship to God and making sure that you’re focused on him first and then prepare this other stuff. And that’s what I want to bring you back to so that we don’t forget that our relationship with God is primary, always primary. Let’s go back to the scripture again by faith Abraham when God tested him offered Isaac as a sacrifice, he who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, it is through Isaac let your offspring will be reckoned Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

00:15:13 – 00:20:08

By Faith, Isaac Blessed Jacob and Isao. In regard to their future by faith Jacob. When he was dying, blessed each of Joseph Sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff by faith Joseph, win, his end was near spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones by faith Moses. Parents hit him for three months after he was born because they saw he was no ordinary child. And they were not afraid of the King’s edict by faith Moses when he had grown up refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He. Regarded disgrace for the sake of crisis of greater value. The treasures of Egypt. Because? He was looking ahead to his reward. By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger, he persevered because he saw him. Who is invisible by faith. He kept the Passover, and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the first born of Israel. By faith, the people pass through the Red Sea as on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to do so. They were doomed. By faith. The walls of Jericho fell after the army had marched around them for seven days by faith. The prostitute Raha because she welcomed, the spies was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say I? Do not have time to tell about Gideon Barak Samson and Jefta about David, and Samuel, and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administer justice, and gained what was promised who shut the mouths of lions, quenched a fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead raised to life again there were others who were tortured refusing to be released so that they might gain even better resurrection, some face, jeers, and flocking and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning. They were sought in two. They were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskin. goatskins destroyed persecuted and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered and deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith. Get none of them received what had been promised since God had planned something better for us, so that only together with us. Would they be made perfect therefore? The Bible continues in Hebrews twelve therefore. Sense we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses by all of those people. That Hebrews, eleven just listed and many many many many more, who were faithful in the most dire and horrible circumstances who kept their faith and kept their focus. Did Not. Let themselves be pulled away. The politics at the time by the hatred of the time by the persecution of the time, therefore Hebrews twelve says since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sand that so easily in tangles. And let us run with perseverance. The race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and protector of our faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from centers so that you will not weary and lose heart. You may ask why I. Bring this up. Okay well here. It is the second. Amendment to the Constitution is awesome. But Jesus is better. The constitution of the United States is amazing. It’s the most incredible document ever produced by mankind. But Jesus is better and remember the. Bible was not produced by mankind. Men Instead wrote down as they were carried along by the spirit. The United States in my humble opinion is the greatest country on the face of the earth i. m a patriot. I love this country. I’m grateful for this country I honor the flag and the veteran jr who have fought for this country, the men and women who have died for this country I am so grateful to live in the United States it’s hard for me to come up with the words to express that to you and yet, although in my opinion, this country is the greatest country that has ever existed on the face of the earth.

00:20:09 – 00:25:03

Jesus better. Now I personally GonNa vote for Donald Trump you may not I think Donald. Trump has been very good president I think he’s been done an outstanding job. In many ways, there are things I think Necessarily, but that’s the case with every president, but I think he’s been a dynamite president. I loved his speech on July. Third I didn’t see the one on July fourth, but I’ll watch it later. I I hope that he is elected. I think he’ll do a marvelous job, and you may disagree with me. You may think that Joe. Biden is all that a bag of chips. And that’s okay, but regardless of who we pick as president, no matter how much we may have faith in them and think that awesome and be happy with the job we’re doing. Let me remind you that Jesus. Is Better. I may have the guns I want the ammunition. I want a food storage I want the medical supplies I want a place to go to bug out. If I need to bug out, I may have a vehicle that’ll get me anywhere over the top of anything under thing whatever I may have a a no matter what I may have away from my family to escape the tough times and Bill. K. and I provided for all of that and you know that’s awesome. But Jesus better because all of that stuff. is going to pass away. Indeed, so am I. And, so my wife and so are my kids. We’re all GONNA pass away. And a thousand years from now ten thousand years from now a million years from now nobody is going to remember my name. No one’s going to know that I ever existed in the first place. Probably fifty years from now no one will remember me. My kids will until they’re gone and maybe my grandkids. But that’s it. And when they pass away, I’ll just be a name written in a on a piece of paper in a computer in somebody’s genealogy, and they’ll know nothing about me and certainly several hundred years from now, nobody will even care. But Jesus will. Heal no my name. He’ll know everything about me. Just lucky does now. Shooting straight can always right on target. This is the gun guy t podcast. Wouldn’t it be neat to have your name? In the history books on future generations, people would know you were. That’d be really cool. To have your name on Wikipedia so when people search you up, comes your picture and there you. Are you live this time? You died this time and this is what you did when that’d be neat. Neat but let me just remind you that Jesus is better. And that is the essence. Of the book of Hebrews. That’s the essence right there. I do encourage you if you haven’t already done it to prepare for difficult times, I’m of the opinion that things are going to get better, but I suspect that because we’re coming up on an election in which. The country and the world is highly polarized that it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better, and you may be a part of the country where you feel the need or part of the world for that matter where you feel the need to pop smoke as they say, and bug out for a while and come back later. So you ought to have a way to do that I. Think it may come to the point where people are violent enough that you might not WanNa stay in the city that you ran. You Might WanNa bug out, or you might have the power. Go out because of civil unrest, or you might find it difficult to buy things at the store because we’ve had one pandemic and now Dr Fao she. The other day was talking about well. There could be another one. And whether it’s real and actual or you simply for political purposes, it’s still going to affect your life, so is it important to prepare for all of those things, yes. We have in my household. The person your household and we continue to do so we continue to look at what don’t we have that we ought to have? What do we not have in place that we ought to have in place, and to the degree that you have time and space and place and money to do that, you should. Should you join a militia I don’t know. But. You know it could hurt if that’s what you WANNA. Do sure I’m not a member of militia I. Don’t have a desire to join one, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with doing so. But should you focus on Christ? Yes. And if you’ve been pulled away from that. If you’ve lost your focus on the Lord. Then, this is my opportunity. To call you back. This is my opportunity to say to you. Get in your Bible every day. This is my opportunity to lure you. To pray. Not only for the people you love and the people who agree with you, but pray for those who don’t. Pray for enemies.

00:25:04 – 00:29:36

Pray for the leaders of our country whether you like them or not I. Know if you don’t like a person, I’m not a big fan for example of Nancy Pelosi I. Don’t know her personally i. don’t know whether she’s a good person. Bad person personally. I’m not a fan of her policies, but is it good for me to pray for her? Yeah? Yeah. It is in fact. We’re called to do that as Christians so I encourage you to pray for your enemies, and maybe if you get a little sideways, because you’re on social media, lot, or maybe you get a little sideways because you’re looking at the news a lot and you find that you’re on social media and looking at the news more than your in Your Bible. That might be something to look at. And think about. And realized that it’s a good idea perhaps to spend more time fixing your eyes. On Jesus fixing your thoughts on Jesus as it says in Hebrews one in Hebrews twelve to because he is our high priest, he is the author and perfect her of our faith. And if we stop watching him. Then we’re GONNA WE’RE GONNA find ourselves following things. We don’t want to follow and we can very easily drift a long way away. All those people I listed all those people. I read about in Hebrews who are full of faith and commended for their faith. All lived through horribly difficult times. All of them. All of them live through political upheavals. All of them live wars and pasture, Lynch and famine and disease I mean they all struggled and yet. At the end of the day, and at the end of their life. They were commended for their face. So I’m going to put up the list I asked myself about. At the end of my life here’s the questions. I would like to have positive answers to. What kind of a faithful Christian was I. What kind of a husband was I? What kind of father was I? What kind of man was I. And I hope that if anybody ever wants to have a memorial for me, I don’t know whether they will or not or why they would, but if they ever do I hope if somebody asks questions of people who actually know me and they asked those questions. That the answers were will be, he was very faithful. He fixed his eyes on Jesus. He fixed his thoughts on Jesus and no matter what no matter what was happening in the world are in his life. He kept running back to God in everything. He was a good man. Even though man is good, he was a great husband. He loved his wife. and He tried to be a great example to her in faithfulness, and he tried to be a great example to his kids, and he cherish them love them, and if those are the answers that happened at the end of my life, whenever that ends, if it ends today or tomorrow or twenty years from now doesn’t really matter. When it ends, if those are the answers that are given then I have been a success. It doesn’t matter how much money I have, or how many people listen to this podcast or how many people or how many subscribers I’ve got an youtube. None of that matters. None of that is going to exist very long. All of that will crumble to ashes, and the only thing that will be left is Jesus memory of me. That’s what counts. So, if you if you’re a person of faith and you haven’t been in Bible lately well, consider this invitation to return. And if you haven’t been praying lately, consider this invitation to start. And, if you’ve been focused on the world and discouraged and upset and frightened, and so on and worried. Well. Let me. Call you back to a faith. You can be commended for. No matter what happens in this world, no matter what happens in this country, no matter who wins the election or what happens with the constitution or anything else. Jesus is still. Lord God is still God is spirit is still working. The Bible is still the Bible and at some point sometime. Will be with him. Don’t forget that. And don’t lose sight of it. Well I think I’ve run myself out of time for this first half of the podcast. If you’re sticking with me on, Patriot, please do and we’ll start the next half. Otherwise have a wonderful week and wherever you go, whatever you do, please be safe. You’ve been listening to the Gun Guy TV podcast.

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