Don’t forget the nails.

Steve Brown:
Don’t forget the nails. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
If you’re sick of guilt and manipulation. And if you’re looking for an honest and thoughtful presentation of Biblical truth, you’ve come to the right place. This is Key Life, with the founder of Key Life Network, Steve Brown. Keep listening for teaching that will make you free.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at the ninth chapter of the book of Acts and we’re looking at Paul’s past and he had an awful past, and we’re trying to discern what he did with the past and what God did with the past. And I’ve suggested that you need to write your own biography and ask God to show you where he was in all of that. He was there on the day of your birth. In other words, when the God of the universe hung the stars, hollowed out the valleys and made the mountains. When he flung the worlds into existence, he knew your name and there aren’t any accidents. And he was there. I’ve done that. I’ve thought about my past. I’ve tried to ignore it for so very long. And then it came back to bite me and I almost had a breakdown. And so, I resigned my position at that time and thought, I’m going to find out what’s wrong with me and I’m going to get it fixed. But I was naive. It really was, but I did spend a year and I read multiple volumes. I talked to a whole bunch of people and we had a Born Free Seminar that came out of that and we taught it all over the country. In fact, I’m going to be teaching it again, after all these years, at a friend’s ministry. And I’m kind of looking forward to it, but that came out of a very dark past and a time when I began to write my biography, things that I’d forgotten, things that I’d put on the back burner and ignored, things I’d tried to deny. And when I was forced to look at them, I found that when you kiss those demons, they lose their power. But if you read the ninth chapter of Acts, there’s more than that, not only do they lose their power, they get a new power and God uses it for the benefit of his people and for the glory of God, If you were listening yesterday, I talked about Paul still had the scars and he excepted those scars by his grace, the 23rd verse of the ninth chapter of the book of Acts. I’m sure you’ve heard this story, I’m sure, about the father who came on a plan to cause his extremely bad son to reform. He took this on out behind the house and he said to him, son, I love you, but you won’t obey me. I’ve come to the end of my road. I’m not going to beat you anymore. I’m not going to lecture you anymore. I’m going to drive a nail into this post every time you do something wrong and I’m going to pull a nail out every time you do something right. Well, believe it or not, it worked. The boy became so good that there were no more nails. One day the father came out to the post and found his son standing in front of the post. And he said, what’s the matter son, the father asked. There are no more nails and the boy replied, yes sir, but the scars are still there. I hate that story. I really do. I’ve used it sometimes in the past in a sermon. And I repent, I wouldn’t use that anymore because it is so bad and it’s so manipulative and it denies the gospel, but the nail scars are still there but they sparkle. The nail prints are still there, but they shine. The nails have been removed, but the holes sing the hallelujah chorus. And that’s what you got to, you have scars. Yeah. You really do. And you know, if you’re an alcoholic and you’re straight and you’ve been straight for a long time, You still want a drink, but you don’t. And God has given you the, I remember a young lady who had done some really bad things and she was my friend and she had gone off to a Christian school for kids like her, had reformed and gotten different and found Jesus. And it changed her life. And she was at our house for Thanksgiving. And we went out walking after a big meal. And, as we walked, I said, what you’ve been doing? She said, I’ve been visiting my old friends. I said, you have, isn’t that kind of dangerous? And she said, I suppose so. And I said, when you visited your friends, did you, did you want to go back on the drugs and back with them? And she stopped walking and looked at me and said, oh yes. And I said, are you going back? And she said, oh no, she had the scars, but the scars blessed my heart. And they blessed the heart of everybody who knew her. So, there are scars. I mean, we live in a fallen world and the fallen world does stuff to our hearts and our minds and our lives. The scars are there from abuse, from sexual abuse and physical abuse. The scars are there from the decisions that we made that were wrong and the roads we walked and should not have walked. The scars are there, but they sparkle because as I said yesterday, scars are a sign of healing. And God uses even the scars. I quoted that passage in II Corinthians 12 before yesterday, but take it and apply it to yourself. Paul had a thorn in the flesh and we don’t know what it was, but I suspect some of it was this ninth chapter of the book of Acts and the scars that came from his past. And he said, and he said, I asked God to take it away. And I’d ask him three times and he refused. And then I asked him why. Jesus said, because my power is made perfect in weakness. The purpose of scars. You think about that. Amen.

Well, it’s Wednesday. And sometimes on Wednesdays, I take some time to answer one or two questions. And as you know, Pete Alwinson will be in on Friday and we love those programs. We spend the entire time answering questions. Frankly, we’re wrong 50% of the time. We just don’t know which 50%, but we’re honest. And so, you can join us all for the Friday program. And we’ll spend that answering questions and we love to get your questions. You can call 1-800-KEY-LIFE anytime you want, 24 7, when you have a question, hit the right button, then record it. And we sometimes put your voice on the air. Or you can write to

Key Life Network
P.O. Box 5000
Maitland, Florida 32794

In Canada, it’s

Key Life Canada
P.O. Box 28060
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6J8

Or you can e-mail your questions to [email protected]. And as I said, we love to get your questions. And by the way, if you can help us financially, please do. We recognize that most of you can’t, but if you can, I promise we’ll squeeze every dime for the glory of God and we’ll use it to benefit other people who can afford to help us. So, if you can help us, please do. We’re a member of the ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada, both organizations look at our books to make sure that our practices are ethical. But they were before anyway. So help us, if you can, if you can’t, we understand, say a prayer for this ministry. This question is an e-mail question and it, and you’d be surprised how often at Key Life and how often when I was a pastor, I got this question. How can I find contentment as a single person? If it is God’s will that I remain single. How do I handle my disappointment? You know, what I used to do, when people would, men and women would ask me that question, I would say, sacrifice it to God, put it on the alter. And once you have done that and done that really, God will give you what you desire. Gosh was that bad. I had a lady in my church who wrote a book on the singleness and it was a profound book and she heard what I had been telling some of the single people in that church. And she was mad as a wet header. She came into my office and said, Brown, I can’t believe that you’re telling people that because they want what God legitimately has given them a desire for. And if they give up what God has legitimately given them a desire for, they will then get what they no longer want. And I said, well I never thought about it that way, but I repented and I began to tell people the truth. Pain is a part of life. Loss is a part of life. Things are never fair. And I affirm your desire and I’m going to pray that God open the doors for you, for the desire that he’s given you. If he doesn’t, he’s still God and he knows what he is doing and he won’t leave you swinging in the wind. So, I would say that to you. I wish I could be wiser than that. I hope your mother was. I hope she taught you how to flirt and stuff. I’m just kidding. But, I believe that every molecule of our existence is ordained by a God who loves us. And that includes singleness and it’s hard to be single. And then I would say a quick word to the church. It is very, very important, that we not just be a family organized church, where we minister to children and wives and husbands. And if we do that, we’re going to lose one of the most, the greatest powerhouses God has ever given the church. And that is the way he uses single men and women for his glory. So, we need to create a family for those who don’t have one, to reach out and love those people who don’t feel love, to affirm their gifts, to rejoice, even in their singleness as God gives it. That’s everything I know about it. Except before I go, this person who asked this question, I’m so sorry. And I wish I could fix it. You think about that. Amen.