Truth Matters

Guest (Male): Today on Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis.

Dr. Cheryl Davis: The story of life is that life is a collection of a series of moments. Actually, we live life moment by moment. The world believes that we need to live for the moment, get caught up in the moment, leave it all in the moment. The world looks at the moment as the destination actually, not having a plan or consideration for the after effect. Live in the moment regardless of the costs is the world's motto. And when you think about it, the purpose behind every moment in your life, my life, and all our lives since our birth has been to awaken us spiritually.

Guest (Male): There's a reason why Jesus said to his disciples, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. We naturally call out to God when we face pain or hardship, but when things are going well and we're at a pinnacle of success in life, it's easy to forget about God and drift away. This is why whether we're up or down, every moment with him matters.

Dr. Cheryl Davis: What God is saying to us today is in this moment, do you see me? And what I want to tell you is don't miss the moment. Even in the pinnacles, even in the valleys, open your eyes to who he is. Don't miss the moment.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Truth Matters, empowering men and women in the Christian faith to teach biblical truth in the culture and the marketplace of ideas using the Bible as a sacred trust of truth in sharing the message of Jesus. Our program host is Dr. Cheryl Davis. Dr. Davis is a wife, mom, speaker, and Bible teacher. She is a graduate with a doctor of medicine degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She is married to Thad Davis, pastor of Faith Assembly in Saint Paul's, North Carolina. On today's edition of Truth Matters, Dr. Cheryl Davis shares from personal experience how important it is for us that we don't miss the moment when God calls us to deeply trust in him.

Today's message is titled Don't miss the moment. Let's listen.

Dr. Cheryl Davis: In the past 5 years, we have witnessed a number of important moments in this nation. One shocking moment most recently, the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s family released a statement about our most recent moments in history. They said whether we agree or disagree with the words a man speaks, we must never lose sight of his humanity nor forget the sacred dignity that lives within each and every person. We are living in an hour of great moral crisis. Our public square is a blaze not only with words of discouragement, but with the fire of hatred, suspicion, and revenge.

The fabric of our beloved community is being torn apart by bitterness and the refusal to see our political opponents as our brothers and sisters. Violence, no matter the justification or its target is not the answer. It is not the way. It has never been the way. Violence may silence a voice, but it can never change a heart. It may break a body, but it cannot heal a nation. We must not allow righteous anger to harden into hatred nor trade the dream of America for the nightmare of division. The multiple assassination attempts that we have experienced over the past year, and some of them murders quite frankly, I personally thought that I would never see this or experience this in my own lifetime.

These are very significant moments that symbolize a paradigm shift in this nation. Today I want to talk to you about moments. If you Google the definition of a moment, the dictionary says that a moment is a very brief period of time. Basically, the story of life is that life is a collection of a series of moments. Actually, we live life moment by moment. Moments are the structure in which memories are constructed and stored within our memory. Our experiences are built on the structure of moments. Our philosophies and world views are fashioned and shaped by our experiences which are comprised of moments.

Basically, the life that you have lived up to this point has all been a collection of moments. We are living in moments that the Bible calls perilous times where men are lovers of themselves more than lovers of God. We value our lives and our free will or our own freedom to sin more than we value the voice or quite frankly the life of another. We silence the truth by murder rather than heeding the truth so that it can heal our soul and give us eternal life. We say quite often, and I told our church this this past Sunday, we say quite often that the Bible is fulfilling itself without fully understanding the weight and gravity of that statement.

I hear that quite often. Well, the Bible has to fulfill itself before Jesus comes, but we really don't fully understand the weight and the gravity of what we're saying. We don't know what moments we are going to live through before the rapture of the church. And it seems like these moments, moments like I mentioned before, are becoming more frequent, much like the birth pangs that happen in labor. The world's philosophy about moments is this. The world believes that we need to live for the moment, get caught up in the moment, leave it all in the moment.

And really, how many of us have said if just for a moment I could be fill in the blank. The world looks at the moment as the destination actually, not having a plan or consideration for the after effect. Live in the moment regardless of the costs is the world's motto. And when you think about it, Facebook is dedicated to the moment, to our stories. Selfies are founded on the moment, a picture of a moment in time. The recent moment of the assassination of Charlie Kirk is an example of the world's philosophy. Silence the opposition. Free speech should not be respected no matter the cost.

In the moment, make that decision without any regard for the lingering after effect. A man's ways seem right in his own eyes, but in the end they lead to destruction. That is from Proverbs. Our nation has lost its way, but our nation lost its way a long time ago, not just last week. Our most recent events are a lagging indicator of a moral crisis that has been decades in the making. We are a nation that has traded the truth of God's word for the lie. And when I say the lie, I say that in quotation marks.

We are a nation that has traded the truth of God 's word for the lie. The Bible clearly speaks about the world and its philosophy of living and how this path will lead to destruction. But the remedy for that is found in Romans chapter 12 verse 2. It says, and this verse actually was on the daily Bible app this morning. So I took that as a sign from the Lord. It says, and do not be conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Romans 12 verse 2. I'll say it one more time. And do not be conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Moments like the ones we are living in right now place you at a crossroads. A crossroads means that you have a number of ways that you can go. You can go right, left, straight, or turn around and go the opposite direction. What I want you to hear today is this. In these moments, do not be conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God for your life.

You know, you are probably saying, what does this Charlie Kirk moment have to do with the will of God for my life? What really matters in this moment today is what is absolute truth? What really matters in this moment and all moments frankly is what is absolute truth? Before we are even born, the Lord knows us. His plan for us is salvation through his son Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us this in John chapter 3 verse 17. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

The purpose behind every moment in your life, my life, and all our lives since our birth has been to awaken us spiritually. Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse 11 tells us, also he has put eternity in their heart. We are all born spiritually dead and in need of a savior. There is a longing within all of us to be made whole by a relationship with God. This is known as complete transcendence. What God is saying to us today is in this moment, do you see me? You have two ways to respond to God in these moments in which we are living today.

You can respond in the way of the lie, the world's way, or you can respond in the way of the truth, God's way. The way of the world is like the way of Belshazzar in the book of Daniel chapter 5. This is a very familiar passage of the handwriting on the wall. Belshazzar had a feast and brought the articles out of the temple and shamed the God of Israel. And the Lord says to him in verse 23, and you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the God that holds your breath in his hands and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

Don't get caught up in the scene of Belshazzar's actions, but look at the root of his actions. The root of his actions was pride which a lot of us suffer from. Often times in moments like our nation's most recent events, many say I would never do that. I'm sure the shooter's parents said that about their child. He would never do that. But pride can bind a person so tightly that a person's thoughts are controlled demonically and they do not refuse themselves their own desires and their desires become corrupted and murder then becomes an irrational action.

But what we need to humbly realize is that God holds our breath in his hands and owns all our ways. He is our God and the one and only true God. We cannot trade the truth for the lie. And you may be asking, what is the lie? The lie that has infected this nation is the lie that Satan deceived Eve with in the garden. It is the lie that man is his own God and can redeem himself by his own efforts. The lie has infected the hearts of this nation and that is why we are in such a moral crisis.

That is why we are seeing such things play out in the public square as we are seeing. All minds are tempted to believe the lie every day that we live. It's not just the mind of the world. Christians' minds are tempted to believe the lie every day that we live. On every corner, we are faced with the decision of our will versus the will of God. Like I said before, you can respond the world's way or you can respond to the truth, God's way, in the moments that we are living. The truth is that pride is the root of making oneself their own God.

And the Bible says man cannot live by bread alone, but every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. We must not conform to the world, but we should be transformed. We must be transformed. The way to transform and renew your mind is to make the choice with the help of the Holy Spirit to see this moment for what it truly is. Satan is in a fight for the territory of this nation and your own heart. God is using these moments in your life to awaken you spiritually to his truth, his grace, his provision in your life, and quite frankly to the element of spiritual warfare that is going on all around us.

He is awakening you to the spiritual condition of this nation and in your own heart and giving you an opportunity to choose the way of the truth rather than the lie. And what I 'm trying to say to you is this. Don't miss this moment. Don't miss this moment. Don't allow this moment to go right over your head and not see it for what it really is. Don't miss this moment. All of us had had moments where we've missed God in the moment. I believe in being transparent with each other when the Lord leads us to share these experiences because in Revelation chapter 12 verse 11 it says, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the power of their testimony.

That him being Satan, this is telling us that we can overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the power of our testimony. I want to share a moment in my life where I missed God many times in other moments, but in the pinnacle moment thank God I saw him. I felt like this was almost the last warning for me. Before I get into the story, what I want you to understand is that God can appear to us in valleys as well as mountaintops. Many times we have more clear vision in the valley because we are suffering.

Suffering has a way to turn our eyes into night vision goggles because the pain is so bad we are looking for God anywhere and everywhere. But in contrast on the mountaintops, usually we are blind to him because we are celebrating rather than suffering. We are not perfect and thank God he is long suffering. He will continuously seek us and attempt to reconcile us to him. You know, many say life is a journey and yes it is. It is full of moments that we label as highs and some we label as lows. There is a certain moment though that we experience that we call the pinnacle moment.

The pinnacle in a mountain chain is the highest point of the rock formation. We often use the word pinnacle in reference to someone's career. The definition of pinnacle when it comes to a career is the most successful point or the culmination. Culmination means the completion of a plan or the coming together of things. The pinnacle point or the culmination point is special to us and to God, but it is also particularly special to the enemy because if the enemy can get you at the pinnacle point or when everything is culminating in the plans of your life, then really by definition no other height will be as high as that one.

Therefore, if we say no to God then and we are at our peak moment, we're less likely to say yes to God and other accomplishments moments which may be lesser than our pinnacle. You know, and you may think I just want to step aside. You may think that you have already passed your pinnacle in your life, but with God I can promise you that the pinnacle is yet to come. In Jeremiah 29 verse 11 God says, for I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

Our pinnacle in God is when we are like him at the marriage supper of the Lamb in our resurrection body. Nothing on earth that we experience will compare to when we are like God. But with the world actually, you know, there's no guarantee. You could have already passed your pinnacle or you could not. Who knows with the enemy? You know, the world can give you riches, but they are temporary. And when they are tested in the fire, they are consumed. The ultimate destination of the world is apart from God for eternity in hell. And friend, if you are not abiding in the vine, there's no in between.

You either serve the Lord or you serve Satan. And if you're serving Satan presently, if you close your eyes and don't wake up, you'll wake up in hell. Let's get back to the story though. I'm still talking about moments and how if the enemy can get you at the pinnacle moment or at the culmination, the stronghold is greater. Please don't think I'm using this story to boast, but I'm using it to show you how God works and how he can transform lives for his purpose and how we can open our eyes at times where we don't expect it.

I graduated from medical school in 2005 and I know that was many moons ago for a lot of you, but I was 24 years old at the time. Please don't calculate my age. After medical school, you complete a residency very similar to a military structure in workload and advancement. The first year is the internship. You you work 80 hours every week and spend every fourth night overnight in the hospital. It is a time of proving yourself. It's a time of weeding out. But after completing the first year, the chief resident is chosen 3 years in advance to lead the residency program for 1 year and serve as a teacher to medical students and other residents.

So technically you only have a year to prove yourself. But when you're chosen, it's an honor, but also it opens doors to many fellowships in the country. And to be a cardiologist, an nephrologist, or a specialist, to subspecialize, you must complete a fellowship beyond residency. My career goal was to become the chief internal medicine resident. Francis Collins who mapped the human genome was a UNC chief resident. It's a pretty significant honor within medicine. Ultimately my goal was to match at the Cleveland Clinic to do interventional cardiology. Notice I have labeled these my plans and my goal.

But in September 2006, 1 year after my internship was completed and I was chosen as the chief resident for UNC Hospitals Internal Medicine Residency Program. For me it was the pinnacle moment. It was the culmination of everything I had worked hard for. You know, and in my mind I had imagined how I would feel. But on the day of the announcement, all I felt was emptiness. My happiness only lasted 30 minutes and I could not get away from a nagging emptiness that lasted for weeks. Through a lot of inner turmoil and looking back on it, really what it was, it was conviction.

I realized that I was worshiping my gifts more than the giver. My problem was that there was only one seat on the throne of all of our hearts and my heart and God was not in that seat. I was in the seat. I saw my heart for its true idolatry of self and saw that I was far from Christ even though I rarely missed church outside of work. I was a backslidden regular church attendee and I had deceived my own self. And when I see how far I had deceived myself, I realize we humans have a great ability to deceive ourselves.

Never underestimate how much we can deceive ourselves. But in October 2006, the Lord changed my heart. I made a choice to follow him wholeheartedly. On the outside I looked like success, but on the inside I was miserable. And I have been raised in the church all my life. I went to church in my mother's womb. If I had not seen God in that pinnacle moment, I don't know if I would have seen him again. Also, like I said before, I felt like it was this final warning. And also I had a feeling that if I didn't see him then and looking back on it, I don't know what it would have taken for me to have seen him again.

That day I decided not to be conformed to this world and its idols, but to be transformed by the power of God and the renewing of my mind so that I could prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God for my life. Daily I continue to renew my mind by reading his word and through prayer and never forgetting where the Lord brought me from. Now, almost 20 years later, my husband and I are pastoring a church. He has taken me places I never would have imagined and given me peace that the world can never give.

Thank God I did not miss that moment. And what I want to tell you is don't miss the moment. Even in the pinnacles, even in the valleys, open your eyes to who he is. Don't miss the moment. I do not know where all of you are in listening today in your walk with the Lord. What I do know is that this nation is at a crossroads with the recent events of this year. I do know that we need redemption from ourselves and for this nation and we needed it yesterday. We needed it decades ago. I hope that you can see God in these pivotal moments because I have a sense that as the earth groans for its redemption, these moments are going to become more frequent and closer together.

We have a decision to make. Will we respond in the way of the world and respond in the way of the lie or will we respond in truth and see this situation for what it truly is? We cannot trade the truth of God for the lie any longer. The lie is tearing this nation apart. Do not miss God in this moment. Heed the truth before it is too late. And I will continue to pray for each one listening that even in the small moments and even in the big moments that you'll see God in all the moments of your life.

And I'll pray that he will create a quietness around you and reduce your busyness so that you can hear his voice and listen to his voice because there are many distractions in the world that are trying to drown out the voice of God. It is causing us to stumble. It's causing us to walk blindly through this world, but if we can open our eyes to see him and open our ears to listen and to heed his voice, we will not miss the moment and we will be transformed. Our minds will be renewed. We will walk in obedience and we will live a life more abundantly.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis and today's message titled The Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness. In these changing times, there has been one thing that has never changed, the message in the Bible. The truth in God's word stands stronger than ever. Read it for yourself so that you may know and discern what is true, holy, and acceptable in the eyes of God. Friend, if you're searching or confused in what to believe in this ever changing modern culture, Dr. Davis would like to help you discover and understand what is true and genuine.

You can reach her by email at cheryldavis@projecttruthmatters.com. Cheryl is spelled c h e r y l Davis at projecttruthmatters.com. You can also write to her at PO Box 159, Saint Paul's, North Carolina 28384. Or you can connect on Facebook at Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. And lastly, if you'd like to hear more of Dr. Davis's messages, the Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis podcast is available on Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Pandora, and Castbox. Our website is projecttruthmatters.com. That's projecttruthmatters.com. Truth Matters is made possible thanks to the prayers and financial contributions of friends like you and is a production of the Truth Project.