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The highest in the highest, there's a dance on the sea.

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The creations reveal your majesty.

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From the colors of all to the flavors of supreme.

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Every creature unique in the song that it sings.

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While exclaiming in the sky, you place the stars in the sky and you know it'll light.

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You are amazing, you are powerful, until the possible, until the possible is to help you come and go.

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You are amazing God, so heavenly like the wolf where it shone.

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You are amazing God, so heavenly like the wolf where it shone.

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Every move I make I'm making you, you make me move Jesus.

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Every breath I take I breathe in you.

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Every step I take I take in you, you are my way Jesus.

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Every breath I take I take in you.

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Waves of mercy, waves of grace.

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Everywhere I look I see your face, your love has captured me.

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Oh my God.

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Can you cry, oh no, will I go free, though I could ride myself in that to walk.

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For I've been blessed with empathy and by your strength alone I overcome.


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but those trophies could not equal to the grave, my wish I said.

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Can you cry, oh no, I'll make my choice and find that glory in the power of the Lord.

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And every breath I take I breathe in you, you are my way Jesus.

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It's time to go. In Christ alone I'll breathe,

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the morning by his great diarity, and only him tenderly could reach me at my weakness too kindly.

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Now I could seek no greater honor than just to know him more, and then count my heap of hearts in to the glory of the Lord.

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In Christ alone I'll make my choice and find that glory in the power of the Lord.

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In every breath I take I breathe, let it be so.

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It's hard to stand, on a shifting bed, it's hard to shine,

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in the shadows of the night you can't be free,

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if you won't reach for help and you can't love, if you won't love yourself.

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But there is hope when I'm there from the start,

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cause I went back and down, and like the sun is shining where the rain is pouring down,

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it's like the sun is sliding cold, the feet are on the ground,

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so take this heart of mine and oh no, I went back and down.

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I am strong, all because of you, I stand at all,

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a better mountain that you know, oh I am changed,

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yesterday is gone, oh yesterday from this moment on,

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there's hope for you when the night comes round, cause I went back and down.

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Some time back I was working security at East Little Baptist Church,

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and back in the day we hadn't had any security risks,

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we hadn't had anybody challenging any of our kids,

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we hadn't had anybody sneaking into vacation Bible school,

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nothing like that had really been happening,

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but I had a job to do and I was faithful, I was there praise the Lord,

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and God helped me cause I got kind of, I don't know if you've noticed this about me,

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but I can be a little bit attention deficit disorder at times,

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and so I was, what do I do while I'm sitting here watching the kids all day,

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like I'm moving to this class, I gotta sit here and I gotta sit here,

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and so I said well I'm gonna learn to juggle,

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and I got the book and the book said,

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if you wanna learn to juggle this is what you do, you start with this,

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I thought there you go, I'm juggling, I only juggled in one, but I'm juggling,

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that's pretty cool, and then I went to the next page of the book,

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and I said if you wanna learn to juggle, you go next to this,

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look I'm juggling, I'm juggling two, this is how I juggles, juggles two,

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and I'm going like ah that's awesome,

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and then I went to the next page of the book and it said,

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throw one up and then when that starts coming up,

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throw the next one up, when that starts coming up,

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throw the next one up, and I thought that's harder,

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but I spent a whole day practicing step one and a whole day practicing step two,

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so if I spent a day practicing step three and I was a VBS day,

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it's like three and a half hours, and then I should be able to do it,

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so I just throw this one up, throw this one up,

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and I throw that one up, just like that,

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and suddenly I was juggling, and I'm like wow that's awesome,

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and then I read the next page in the book,

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and the next page in the book says,

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what to do when somebody asks you to juggle more than three balls, potatoes, whatever,

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and he said here's what you do,

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when somebody asks you to juggle more than three,

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you say can you juggle three, right, that's what you do,

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you say they're asking you to juggle four,

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you say well can you juggle three,

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and I thought to myself, why is it that whenever we see somebody juggle three,

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we immediately want to say, can you juggle four,

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juggling three is pretty amazing, that's awesome, right,

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and I was amazed that I could do it,

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I want you to bear that in mind then,

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as we look at the text today,

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we're going to talk today about the dangers of waiting for something magical to happen,

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now this applies in just about every area of our lives,

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which means I cannot delve into every way that this applies,

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but we're going to look at a particular text,

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and we're going to see how it applied there,

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and then we can extrapolate,

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which means we can break off some important truths from that understanding,

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to what we can do with it, or what we should do with it,

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and I've already given you just a little bit of a subtext there,

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and you can see it in your bulletin, it's on the screen,

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it's in my notes, and it says, look away, or look deeply,

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those are your options when something magical happens,

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but the problem is, we've got a lot of people who are waiting for something magical to happen,

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and I submit to you that there are grave dangers to waiting for something magical to happen,

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so grab your Bibles with me if you would,

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and we're going to go to, can I take a breath,

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hold it, hold it, Acts chapter 8,

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not bad, it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad, okay,

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so praise God, this is Acts chapter 8,

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we're looking at Deacon Philip in Samaria,

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Philip was not, and don't get this confused, he was not an apostle,

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he was not one of the twelve,

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yet when the persecutions began in Jerusalem,

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he and others like him took the truth of Jesus Christ to the surrounding lands,

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so you'll remember Jesus saying something like,

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power will come upon you and you'll become my witnesses in Judah, Judea, Samaria,

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and unto the uttermost parts of the earth,

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so when they were chased out of Jerusalem into Judea,

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the process had really begun,

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they were chased out of Judea into Samaria,

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the process had really begun,

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and that just leaves unto the uttermost parts of the earth,

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which is still going on today,

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that's the greater church age, if you want to call it that,

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Philip was one of those, he was chased out of Jerusalem,

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he went to Samaria, now in Samaria lives a half-breed people,

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do you know what I mean by that?

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A half-breed people is a people of mixed, what we would call race,

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now I believe in one race, the human race, I'm not saying that,

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but the Jews considered them half-breeds because there was a time when Assyria conquered their country,

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and Assyria's method of conquering countries was they took the people from that country,

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and they scattered them all over their kingdom that they had conquered,

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so it would be as if somebody conquered America,

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and then took, say it was Russia,

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and they conquered 30 other countries,

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and then they conquered America,

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and they took all Americans, all important Americans,

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Americans with skill, Americans with money, Americans with history,

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Americans with positions of power,

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took all those important Americans,

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and they scattered them over all those 30 other countries,

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now the idea is you can't get back together again,

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you can't form a cohesive defense,

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that was the idea, and it kept the lands that they conquered,

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it kept them conquered, it was a good strategy,

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effective, not necessarily good,

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and so what happened was the Jewish people from their homelands were put into Samaria,

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many of them, and other peoples were put into Samaria,

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and you know what happens with people when you put a lot of people from different countries together,

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they hook up, they marry, they become a people, they become a new people,

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a hundred years later, a thousand years later, and you've got all this intermarrying,

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mostly I'm really talking about cultures,

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when I say half-breed I'm talking about cultures coming from all different cultures,

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so they were not a true Jewish people anymore,

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they were mixed with other races,

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and the Jews were so prejudiced and so biased about this,

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that they would avoid this whole section of the world,

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they would literally go days through the desert to not go through Samaria,

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that's how bad it was,

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but there are some great stories about how Jesus went there,

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and clearly Jesus did not see them that way,

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now we have Philip going there as part of the persecution he goes to Samaria,

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and in a way it's kind of safer, because not a lot of Jews are going to go in there and hunt him there,

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because they don't want to go in there,

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so he goes in there, and it begins in verse 4,

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therefore those who had been scattered went about preaching the word,

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and Philip went down to the city of Samaria,

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and began proclaiming Christ to them,

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so let's just real quick for a second, what was his message?

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Simply put, Christ, that's it,

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so his message is Christ, he doesn't go much about the church,

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he doesn't go much about the Holy Spirit,

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he doesn't go much about the word of God,

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the word about Christ, this is what happened,

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Jesus lived, he was perfect, he died for your sins,

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that's what happened, just proclaiming Christ,

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and the multitudes with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip,

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and they heard and saw the signs which he was performing,

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notice there are signs,

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Philip was doing things that were magical,

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now there were miracles given by God for the glory of God,

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but these people didn't necessarily understand that,

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they just saw him doing things and going,

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whoa, that's something, that's what a sign is,

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something, something to pay attention to,

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for in the case of many who had unclean spirits,

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they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice,

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and many who had been paralyzed, and lame, were healed,

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now they could walk, now they were no longer paralyzed,

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no longer got evil spirits and demons in them,

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that's incredible, that's amazing, that's magical,

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and there was much rejoicing in that city,

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now there was a certain man named Simon who formerly was practicing magic in the city,

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and astonishing the people of Samaria claiming to be someone great,

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stop there one second, Simon was this guy, he was doing magic,

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we gotta talk about magic for a moment,

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magic is when something happens that cannot easily be explained by what you understand,

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magicians who are actually mostly illusionists perform magic,

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they'll say, pick a card, and then they shuffle it all back in the deck,

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and some crazy way it comes up and it shows up in your back pocket,

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or they'll say, I'm gonna pull a rabbit out of my hat,

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you look in the hat, there's nothing in there, and a rabbit pops out,

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somehow they're tricking you, it's an illusion,

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but the amazing thing is they can do it right in front of you,

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and you can't figure it out, you're like, I don't get it, how is he doing that, that's incredible, right,

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that's what we think of as magicians magic or illusionists magic,

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I submit to you that was not what Simon was doing,

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now he was doing that, that was not the only thing he was doing,

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he was also delving into the dark arts or magic,

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in the sense of using other power other than God's power to do something that seemed incredible,

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he was toiling with demons, toiling with evil spirits, messing with human spirit,

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he was doing things that no one could explain,

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now if you follow a magician or illusionist and you look real closely,

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sometimes you can pick out the trick,

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there essentially is no trick in the dark arts,

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there is real evil and there is real power to be done in that evil,

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real things that can be done,

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and we see many examples of it in scripture and they were seeing it in Simon,

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and because they were seeing it in Simon they were astonished,

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they were amazed, wow, this is incredible,

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and he was claiming to be someone great,

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and they all from smallest to greatest were giving attention to him,

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notice he was getting all of the attention,

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they were giving attention to him saying,

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this man is what is called the great power of God,

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and so that messing with evil spirits and demons and the dark arts that he was doing

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was causing him to get the attention and you could say the glory,

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if you want to go that far you could say he was getting the glory for himself,

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rather than giving it to God,

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and if you are getting your power from evil spirits and demons,

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they certainly do not want the glory for that to go to God,

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that is the only reason they give power is to take glory away from God,

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verse 11, and they were giving him attention because he had for a long time,

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astonished them with his magic arts,

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so notice this guy has got a track record,

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and people will follow and commit themselves and consent to the leadership or ownership or rulership or mastership,

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of someone who has a track record of being able to produce that which amazes them,

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you follow my logic,

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anybody here familiar with a magician or maybe a performer,

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a movie star that you like or an actor that you like,

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and when you see them in the movies you think man they do such a good job,

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it is a different character but I can really believe it,

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and so you are looking for the next movie that comes out by them,

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I am not saying you are following them like a god,

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I am not saying it is idol worship or anything like that,

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but the point is if you have somebody who continues to do for you in a way that kind of astonishes you,

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kind of gives you energy, and I will talk about that in a minute,

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then you are going to want to follow that person,

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and this can affect relationships,

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so he makes me feel good so now I want to follow him,

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she makes me feel good so now I want to follow her,

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lots of things like that happen, money does that,

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I feel free to spend my money, and so money gives me what I want,

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so now I want to follow the pursuit of money,

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I do not want to digress here but the bottom line is in verse 11,

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they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts,

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which we know are dark arts,

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verse 12, but when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God,

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and the name of Jesus Christ they were being baptized men and women alike,

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so now notice that he is preaching the good news and he is preaching about the kingdom of God,

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so there is a slight expanding or you could say it is a breaking down of the truth about Jesus,

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that it breaks down into these two points, the good news and the kingdom of God,

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and they are believing and they are being baptized men and women alike,

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so folks are for all practical appearances getting saved,

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and when you get baptized you say I am no longer living for me, I am now living for Jesus,

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so this all looks really good, but there is trouble in Denmark,

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verse 13, and even Simon himself believed,

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so the magician gets saved, the man who was messing around with dark arts,

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well that sounded really good, he believed anyway,

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and after being baptized he continued on with Philip,

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so he starts following Philip around and becomes kind of like a servant, a watcher, whatever,

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and as he observes signs and great miracles,

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so he is seeing incredible magical events,

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use that word kind of tongue in cheek because you understand there is a difference at this point already,

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he sees incredible magical events taking place,

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he is constantly amazed, now why did the people follow Simon,

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because they were constantly ongoing amazed,

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why does Simon follow Philip, because he is constantly ongoing amazed,

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I submit to you that is a problem, that is a real problem,

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verse 14 says, now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God,

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they sent them Peter and John, now these are apostles,

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when everybody was being kicked out of Jerusalem, persecuted out of Jerusalem,

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the apostles were safe, they stayed there, continued to worship in the side colonnade of the temple,

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they did not have to go, God would protect them, keep them together as a core of the church if you will,

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and so the church there now sends Peter and John down,

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they were like, okay, they are getting the word of God, something is happening there,

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we have to go make sure this is, how can we help, what can we do, what do we need to do,

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verse 15 says, who came down, that is Peter and John,

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came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

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now before I go any further, there is a lot of people in the world who have tried,

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I would say it is not a lot of evangelical Christians,

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but there are a lot of people in the world who claim to believe in Christ,

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who then will say, this is an example of people getting saved and then later receiving the Holy Spirit,

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but the Bible very clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit arrives at your salvation,

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very clearly here and in one other place only, and if you know where it is,

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I will let you say it before I do in a moment, think about it for a second,

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here and in one other place only in the New Testament do we see people who seem to be getting saved,

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then getting prayed for and actually receiving the Holy Spirit,

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does anybody know where it is, do you want to take a stab at it,

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you have to be a pretty good Bible scholar to know this one,

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it is in Ephesus, when Paul goes to Ephesus, the same similar thing happens,

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they seem to be getting saved, but then after that,

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now I said that wrong, it is not an Ephesus, it is Cornelius household, there we go, it is Cornelius household,

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Cornelius was the soldier and he saw vision, Peter saw vision, Peter goes there,

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and Cornelius and all the Gentiles in his house who had believed in Jesus already it says,

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then received the Holy Spirit, that is the only other time, okay there we go, now I have that clear,

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the point is this, only in those two instances it seemed like that,

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and if you follow the text that means, wait for it, they were not saved,

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if the Holy Spirit comes at salvation, which is the case in every other case in the New Testament,

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there is only these two cases, that one and Cornelius, we are not going to go and read today,

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they were not actually saved, they were attracted, they were even following Philip at least,

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they were following what Philip was doing, they were following the teachings that Philip was giving,

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they were saying that they believed, they were even believing,

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but as we saw with Asa, you believe and you seek God and then what happens, God reveals himself to you,

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so God had not yet done the work, the saving work completely in these people,

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there may have been those amongst them who were saved, they just did not know what they were looking for,

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or there were those amongst them who were not saved, we are only going to go just a little further,

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they came down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

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for he, that is the Holy Spirit, had not yet fallen upon any of them,

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they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,

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so in other words, they just believed on the truth about Jesus and they have been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,

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I think it is interesting there, they were not baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,

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and that is why people kind of get wrapped up and say you have to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,

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which is the model that Jesus gave us, baptized them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit,

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and Philip did not quite do it right, he just was baptizing them in the name of Jesus,

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which is all good, but the point is they did not receive the Holy Spirit,

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verse 18, now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through laying on the apostles hands, he offered them money,

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wow, this is a new level of amazing, where I can not only do amazing,

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first I can see amazing, which I am astonished by that, I am loving it, I am following you because of that,

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but on top of that I can do amazing, because you are going to give me the ability to do this now,

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and then the people that I touch will be able to do amazing, and I can see the value in this, this is going to be awesome,

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I want this, what does it cost, just as he might purchase a magic trick from another magician,

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or a dark art from another wicked magician, he offered them money,

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verse 19 says, saying, give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit,

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the irony of that is by the way that he could have got it for free,

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if he had only just truly believed and received the Holy Spirit, right, because that is how that works,

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but Peter said to him, may your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money,

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and by the way you cannot obtain the gifts of God, any of them, with money, in fact if you can buy it,

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hang on this is going to, this will hit hard, if you can buy it, it ain't from God, understand,

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if you pay a reasonable price for it, it ain't from God, that's not the way it works,

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okay, so here is the text, overall boiled down to points and then a conclusion that is kind of a whopper,

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okay, so the title again was the danger of waiting for something magical to happen,

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and the first danger of waiting for something magical to happen is kind of obvious, but it is that it just might,

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you could be waiting for something magical to happen and something magical just might happen, it does happen,

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was there anybody in the room who was a little bit surprised when I juggled,

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if you've seen me do it before you weren't, but if you've never seen me do it before you thought,

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well that is kind of cool, you know, I wonder if you can do four, right, or axes,

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or flaming batons, wouldn't that be cool, is there anybody else in the room who can juggle, right,

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I want to see juggling and so on, it just might happen, and the funny thing about that is miracles

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and magic are hard to discern the difference of, God does do miraculous things,

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if I were to stand up here and tell you a history of just the ones that I am personally knowledgeable of,

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first of all I would fail miserably because I don't have all my notes and I wouldn't be organized and whatever,

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but I could tell you miracles that God has done in our church, in our midst, in my midst personally,

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when I was alone with my family, with my wife, with my kids, I could pick different names,

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people that I've known that are in this room, miracles that I've seen happen,

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and it would take us hours, I couldn't do it in a sermon time, it's not possible,

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so why do we preach the word of God, why don't we just tell everybody about the miracles that God does,

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surely they'll be won over, they'll want to come and follow,

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the danger of waiting for something magical to happen is that something magical just might happen,

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and the question is can you tell the difference, there are essentially three major differences between miracles

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and miraculous events, the first one is that the power that powers, I'm sorry, between magical and miraculous events,

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there we go, the power that powers a magical event is power not directly from God,

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whereas the power that powers a miraculous event is God's power intervening in the world,

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now the question I ask of you is this, can you tell when something amazing happens,

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whether God miraculously did that or a demon, evil spirit, or a person manipulating the situation,

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or somebody just showed up and paid the money, can you tell the difference,

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it is dangerous to sit around or stand around waiting for something magical to happen because it just might,

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and when it does you won't know whether it was from God or whether it was from man or from an evil spirit or a demon,

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and then you might wind up following along with the person that did it or with the demon that did it,

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and wind up somewhere where you definitely don't want to be,

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being able to distinguish between miracles and things that appear magical is essential for the Christian,

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you need to be able to do that, in order to be able to do that you have to be preparing to do that,

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you can't just wait around for something magical to happen and go well I wonder if that was a miracle,

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by the way if you say I wonder if that was a miracle, only one of two things is possible,

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either A, it wasn't, or B, you're messed up in the head,

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because the Bible says if you follow the Lord and commit your temple which is your body to the Lord,

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then the will of the Lord can be known to you,

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and if you can know the will of the Lord then you can look at that miraculous event and know whether or not it was a miracle,

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this is one of the ways that you can know, did the power come directly from God,

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to know whether or not the power came directly from God,

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you're going to have to have a relationship with God and understand the kind of things that he does with his power and what his power is like,

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the second way of discerning a miracle from a miraculous event,

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and for a miracle from a magical event, there we go, is manipulation and opposition to the truth,

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that's how magic is normally done, even dark arts magic, all magic is done that way,

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manipulation or opposition to the truth versus in God's case revealing the truth,

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if the thing that's being done looks astounding to you,

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my blood pressure just went down, my heart rate went up just like I was surprised,

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I'm feeling kind of positive, dopamine released in my brain,

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that's all true, and you go like man that was awesome,

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and you want more of it, and it's not revealing some of God's truth,

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there's not something there for you to learn,

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we talk about the inspirational moment, Tony T's talking about being inspired, inspiring others this morning,

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we're talking about that, if you have a, you're going throughout your day in a seven days, Wednesday afternoon, 2pm,

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you drive by somebody and God says hey pay attention to that right there,

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I want to show you something miraculous happening, and you look at it and you go wow that was awesome, that was so cool,

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and then you go boy I hope I can see more of that, what just happened?

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It wasn't miraculous at all, it didn't reveal any truth to you,

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it didn't say anything to you about God's great glory, about how powerful he is, about what you should be doing,

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nothing came out of it except you felt astounded, therefore you can say,

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even if the person who was paralyzed got up and walked,

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if all that happens when a person is paralyzed gets up and walks,

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is they get up and walk and you get a fuzzy feeling, a warm fuzzy,

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then one of the two things is true, they did not get up and walk because of a miracle of God,

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or you are messed up in the head, those are the only options,

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and if you're just waiting around for the next magical thing to happen,

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you can sufficiently say that you're messed up in the head,

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something just might happen, and you'll have a hard time sorting the miracle from the magical event,

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based on these two parameters at least,

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notice that third and probably most important is that magic does not glorify God and miracles do,

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there's a great on the record, you can read about it, magical event that took place in,

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I want to say, I might mess this up, but I want to say temple,

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let's just say temple, so I might get the religion wrong,

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all over the US, it started like in Mexico, and it happened in the US, it happened in Canada,

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and then it even happened in some places in Europe,

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and they had this cow that they worship, I think it's Hinduism if I'm not mistaken,

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and they were in the middle of a famine, and the cow began to cry,

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this is not 2000 years ago, this is in 1990 or something like that,

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and the cow began to cry, and the cow was crying milk,

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so they put a bucket on it, they caught the milk, and then they took the milk,

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and they drank it, and they used it for cooking and everything,

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and then they put another bucket on it, and they put another bucket on it,

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and it happened, not in one place, but in like 20 places,

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and everybody's going, oh the God of the Hindus is mighty,

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no the God of the Hindus is nothing, the God of the Hindus is a false God,

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that was a magical event, now you explain how a magical event happens to attract people to a false God,

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I'll tell you, it's very simple, power from a dark realm,

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evil spirits, demons, etc, Satan himself can attract people to follow a false God

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by doing something miraculous, or that appears miraculous,

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brings no glory to God, draws power from another source,

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and is not God's power intervening in the world,

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and does not reveal the truth about Jesus Christ,

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and so people became Hindu because they drank milk,

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and if you became Christian because God did a miracle,

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now let's set aside the miracle of salvation for a moment,

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but if you saw another miracle and became Christian, you would not be Christian at all,

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what is the chief danger of waiting for something magical to happen?

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It is that it just might, something magical just might happen,

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and then you will be left in a place where you cannot sort out,

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did that happen for some magical reason, did it happen for some miraculous reason?

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Boy I'll tell you what man, I now know the purpose of my life,

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because my car started or didn't start on that cold wintery day, what?

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Well I prayed, I said God, if my car starts then I'll be this for you for the rest of my life,

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and my car started, sometimes car starts, and sometimes cars don't start on cold days,

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sometimes they don't start the first five tries,

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and they suddenly start because the battery woke up enough to start the car,

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that should not change your entire life,

436
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,000
if you're looking for a magical event to direct you, you are wasting your human effort,

437
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:10,000
it is dangerous to wait for something magical to happen because it just might,

438
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:16,000
also it is dangerous to wait for something magical to happen because magic or miracles,

439
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,000
that are viewed as magic will simply leave you astounded,

440
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,000
you'll have surprise or wonder, you'll be excited,

441
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,000
it feels good temporarily, the Bible does this thing where it releases this chemical,

442
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,000
it's called noradrenaline, adrenaline is the chemical that happens when somebody pulls a knife on you,

443
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,000
or when you go down a dark alley and a six foot five guy with a baseball bat suddenly steps out and says,

444
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,000
give me your wallet, right, like that, that's adrenaline,

445
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:45,000
that's adrenaline, fight or flight instinct, noradrenaline is produced all the time,

446
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,000
it happens during sports, it happens during watching TV,

447
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,000
it happens during watching movies that you like, reading books that you like,

448
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:57,000
playing games, you can produce noradrenaline a lot of minor ways,

449
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,000
and if you find a way to produce noradrenaline, you will want it,

450
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,000
because your body likes it, runs better on it than it does normally,

451
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,000
and you'll go after it, this is one of the ways that people get addicted to drugs,

452
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,000
it's how people get addicted to sports or sports activities,

453
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:15,000
how people get addicted to hobbies, recreation, camping, the list just goes on and on,

454
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:21,000
dopamine and noradrenaline are substances that are created when we experience something that astounds us,

455
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,000
that makes us feel good, I didn't think I could do that,

456
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:31,000
the first time I ever juggled, I went up, noradrenaline, I'm juggling, that's amazing,

457
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:36,000
and I thought, well I wonder if I can do four, just like everybody else in the world,

458
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,000
and by the way, I can, it's 15 years later, 20 years later, I still can't do four,

459
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,000
but I've not put the effort in necessarily to learn to either,

460
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,000
but the point is this, when you experience an incredible event,

461
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:54,000
you feel noradrenaline or dopamine, and whether it's a magical event or a miraculous event,

462
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:59,000
either way, you're going to be left with an astounded feeling, a surprised feeling,

463
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,000
a wondered feeling, a positive feeling, this is how people get addicted to pornography,

464
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,000
I know everybody's like lust, lust, lust, pornography, but it's not,

465
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,000
that isn't even the main thing, lust is terrible, yes, and it's the lust of the eyes,

466
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,000
and the lust of the flesh, and we get addicted to it, people do that,

467
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,000
but you know what's in pornography that really people are attracted to,

468
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:25,000
the amazing creation of God, for a man to look at a beautiful woman naked, that's powerful,

469
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,000
for a woman to look at a man naked, that's powerful, it should never be done,

470
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,000
unless it's your spouse, but people will do it, and then they have an experience,

471
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,000
whoa, look at that, I wonder if I can see some more of that,

472
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,000
and that's exactly how it goes, we're astounded, surprised, it's a magical thing,

473
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:47,000
it's not a miraculous thing because it's not glorifying God, it's not God's power that is being enacted there,

474
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,000
and no truth is revealed unless it's about our sinful nature and need for a Savior,

475
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,000
but it never goes so far as to reveal the truth for a need for a Savior,

476
00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:00,000
and so the bottom line is, when your brain reacts to a magical or miraculously viewed event,

477
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:05,000
it will simply leave you astounded and searching for another astonishment,

478
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:12,000
so waiting around for a magical event to happen, something will tell you what you need or what you want,

479
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,000
or you'll see something that you never saw before, waiting around for that is dangerous because number one,

480
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,000
it just might, and number two, the magical or miraculous event,

481
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,000
a miraculous event mistaken as magic or a magic event,

482
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:29,000
either one will simply leave you astounded, surprised, wondering, and desiring,

483
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:35,000
so the logical conclusion is then what? Well I need more of this thing,

484
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:43,000
I go to the store, I go oh gosh, I need a microwave, here's a microwave for $60, here's a microwave for $300,

485
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000
I'm a push button, of course, wow, lots of people here, remote, set the bluetooth on my phone,

486
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:53,000
I gotta have a $300 microwave, buy a $300 microwave, take it home, and you go, I love that microwave I bought,

487
00:35:54,000 --> 00:36:01,000
and now something about you is going, I need another something, that was good, now what's next?

488
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:06,000
What do I buy next? You don't continue to get satisfaction every time you use the microwave, maybe in just kind of tiny drips,

489
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,000
but if you think about something else, what's the next thing?

490
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:16,000
And I know a young man who told me, he said, I only buy name brand clothes, I know who I am in Christ,

491
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:21,000
I'm thinking to myself, yeah, I kinda got a feeling about who you are in Christ too, right?

492
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,000
You're looking for astonishment, you're looking for something, why name brand clothes? What's the difference?

493
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:32,000
If you can buy a good clothes that will work for you, that's sufficient, the logical conclusion becomes, I need more.

494
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:38,000
Does that sound like a tenet of Christianity? Does that sound like a way to follow God through Jesus Christ?

495
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,000
I need more? No, people don't get saved when they experience a miraculous event,

496
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:51,000
even if God did it, unless they realize that it is a miraculous event, that God did it, that he gets the glory, the truth is revealed and so on.

497
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:57,000
So the dangers of waiting for something magical to happen is number one, it just might, and number two, when it does,

498
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:04,000
you may mistake a miraculous event for a magical event, and either way, if you mistake a miraculous event for a magical event,

499
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:10,000
or if it actually is a magical event, you will be left astounded, surprised, wondering and desiring more.

500
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:16,000
I went to camp, a life change camp, and there was a young man there, his name is Josh,

501
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:21,000
and he's kind of a preacher teacher at his church, he's not a pastor, he's a pastor's son,

502
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:27,000
and he preached a couple of things that were a little bit stretched a little bit, if you ever listened to this, sorry Josh,

503
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:32,000
but I didn't agree with a couple things you said, and I'm telling that to his face, I don't have any problem telling him right now.

504
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:37,000
But the bottom line is, he also then got up and he was helping to lead worship and singing,

505
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:42,000
and he felt, he said, he felt led, Natalie's in the room, she can testify exactly what I'm talking about,

506
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:49,000
he felt led and he said to Ariana, I'll give you one illustration, Ariana, he said,

507
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:57,000
the spirit says to me about you that you really like art, but also you really like writing.

508
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:03,000
Now Ariana had not told anybody how much she likes writing, I kind of knew it subconsciously back when she started her own journals,

509
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:09,000
she's written some books and things on her own, but when he said that, that resonated her, and she was like, yes,

510
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:15,000
and then Bailey was there, she's in the God's Kids right now, and she got saved on Thursday,

511
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:22,000
and she had written down on her paper what she was dreaming of being when she grew up, that she wanted to be a dancer,

512
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,000
Natalie's shaking her head, because this is absolute truth, I'm telling you absolute truth, last week, right, this happened,

513
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,000
and he walked up to her, didn't know her from Adam, asked her her name, she says Bailey, and he said,

514
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:35,000
the spirit's telling me that you like to be a dancer when you grow up, just like that.

515
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,000
Now is that magical? It's kind of magical, isn't it? The dude's like reading minds,

516
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:44,000
like he can be a psychic on TV and make money with a 1-900 number, but no, he's serving Jesus,

517
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,000
and he was preaching the gospel and he's talking about Jesus, but you still gotta ask yourself,

518
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,000
and Natalie and a couple of the others, and I had this conversation afterwards,

519
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:56,000
how could we know that what he was doing was miraculous and not magical, right?

520
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,000
If it's just magical, it's just exciting, I don't wanna go there,

521
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,000
I'm not looking for somebody to come and tell me more things about myself that only I know, right,

522
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:07,000
or other magical things that he could do, I'm not really looking for that,

523
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,000
but I am looking for more of the presence of God, more of following God, more of God working on me,

524
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:17,000
more of God in me, how can I learn to exhibit my spiritual gifts, more truth revealed,

525
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,000
and I said this, and the spirit was speaking to me when I said it, Natalie can attest to it,

526
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:25,000
I said one of the ways that you could know for sure that it was miraculous and not magical,

527
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:30,000
whoever wrote this message, right, is that he used it to glorify God,

528
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:34,000
he claimed it was coming from God, but we couldn't verify that for sure, it's not verifiable, right?

529
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:42,000
He used it to glorify God and he used it to reveal more truth about God, and he gave God all the credit,

530
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,000
and so we had every reason to believe that that was a miraculous, and he did,

531
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:50,000
and he did, it was only not, I gave two examples, but there were many others, right, where he was able to tell people

532
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,000
things about them that he should not have been able to know,

533
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:58,000
but if you're waiting around for people to tell you something about yourself,

534
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,000
and then you go, whoa, that's cool, let's do that some more,

535
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:06,000
you're searching for a magical event that is not going to save your soul, in fact it's not going to help you at all,

536
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,000
all it's going to leave you for is astounded, waiting for more,

537
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:13,000
you're going to logically conclude, I need more of that, okay?

538
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:19,000
The third point is one miracle, one miraculous event is necessary,

539
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:27,000
and all miraculous events and all magical events, even when they're powered by evil spirits, Satan, the world system, whatever,

540
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:33,000
all of them point to just one miracle that absolutely is necessary,

541
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:41,000
and these people living in Samaria, listening to Philip and him telling them about Jesus, they didn't get it.

542
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:43,000
They didn't get the miracle.

543
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:49,000
I submit to you, that means it's highly probable that we will have people come in our church, come worship with us,

544
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:57,000
not our building, I mean our gathering, right, and we, the church will gather and they will hear the gospel plainly explained,

545
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:03,000
and they will not get it, and if that is so, if it is possible that there are people who will hear the gospel plainly explained,

546
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:13,000
and they aren't going to get it, it is entirely possible that you could be one of those people who hears the gospel plainly explained and not get it,

547
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:19,000
and that is why you should not be waiting around for magical things to happen.

548
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:23,000
I cannot tell you now the number of times I've lost count, it's at least a dozen,

549
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:29,000
of times where I shared a simple gospel with somebody, and they said to me something akin to,

550
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:34,000
well if God would just show me something miraculous that I can't deny,

551
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:39,000
if God would just come here right now, step in the room and tell me that I need to do this, or whatever,

552
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:41,000
then I would give my life to him in an instant.

553
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:49,000
You see what had happened is they had built, they built a lifestyle around waiting for something magical to happen.

554
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:54,000
Well something magical happens alright, Jesus Christ comes into a person's life,

555
00:41:54,000 --> 00:42:00,000
He died on a cross to pay for sins, rose again on the third day, stands now at the right hand of the Father making intercession,

556
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:10,000
and through the Holy Spirit comes in and lives in you daily, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, year by year, decade by decade,

557
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:15,000
and you lay on your deathbed and go, oh I am so glad that when I was 12, 50, 70, I gave my life to Jesus Christ,

558
00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:22,000
because I look back now and realize there is no other miracle of all the things that I've seen, of all the things that I've done,

559
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:27,000
of all the things that I've witnessed, there is nothing else that will suffice right now for an eternity with God,

560
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:33,000
and would suffice in all my darkest hours. You with me Elijah? Alright, he says he's with me.

561
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:42,000
One miracle is necessary, someone might use this text to argue for an actor's salvation filling of the Holy Spirit,

562
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:48,000
but always the teachings of the New Testament indicate a filling at salvation.

563
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:57,000
In the cases where it seems like they were not, there is a piece of the gospel missing, a truth about Jesus,

564
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:06,000
a salvation piece that's missing, and they were believing in what Philip was doing and believing in the testimony of the miraculous events,

565
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:13,000
but they weren't getting saved and receiving the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is received by a certain means.

566
00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:19,000
Salvation is received by a certain means. It's kind of a formula, but it's not.

567
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:26,000
It's a method that God put in place, but it's not a method that anybody can replicate because what?

568
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:34,000
The one key step is God reveals himself, as we've been talking about through the story of Asa over the last couple of weeks.

569
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:40,000
This now brings us to our conclusion, which is kind of a doozy, before I give you that I want to go back over briefly.

570
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:45,000
The dangers of waiting for something magical to happen are, one, it just might.

571
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:47,000
While you're waiting for something magical, it just might.

572
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:52,000
And if you cannot determine the difference between a magical event and a miraculous event, when it happens,

573
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:57,000
you then will be in a situation where all events will be viewed as magical,

574
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:01,000
and that will simply leave you astounded, surprised, full of wonder, desiring more.

575
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:09,000
And just one miracle is necessary, just the miracle of salvation.

576
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:17,000
If you can't provide it for yourself, you may wind up more comfortable submitting to someone else.

577
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:22,000
Can you astound yourself daily? Can you surprise yourself daily?

578
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:27,000
You know, it's actually kind of hard to surprise yourself. It's not that easy.

579
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:31,000
I've done it. I bought Sherry a Christmas present. I put it away. I couldn't remember where it was at.

580
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:35,000
So at Christmas time, I had to buy her another Christmas present. I gave her the Christmas present.

581
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:38,000
About seven months later, I was in the towel cupboard, and I went,

582
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,000
Ho! There's the Christmas present! Oh, great! I can give it to her now.

583
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:45,000
And I was surprised. I thought I'd never see that thing again. I had hid that thing so well, I could never find it.

584
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:48,000
So it is possible, but it's kind of hard to surprise yourself.

585
00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:50,000
The easiest way to do it might be to try to learn a new skill.

586
00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:54,000
And as you master the skill, you'll go, wow, that's pretty surprising.

587
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,000
But can you do it daily? No. But can you search it out daily? Yes.

588
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:13,000
Can your soul yearn for more pornography, addiction, sex, drugs, activities, sports, art, crafts, conversations, encouragement, lies, tricks?

589
00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:18,000
Can we yearn for all of that? Can we use one after another after another after another?

590
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:26,000
Yes. We have become that in the United States of America so much so that now the counterpoint of the evil kingdom of evil spirits is shock and awe.

591
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:32,000
So rated R movies have to be worse than ever now. So now we have to have people sawing off their own arms.

592
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,000
Just somebody just dying to a saw. That's not bad enough anymore.

593
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:47,000
But now we have to force people to saw their own arm off so that that shock and awe effect will still provide the astonishment that you need in order to feel good about your life living in the United States of America.

594
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:57,000
If you can't provide it for yourself and you cannot, you may wind up more comfortable submitting to another person who can.

595
00:45:57,000 --> 00:46:13,000
After Peter says to Simon, may your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money, that was verse 20, Simon says back to Peter, I'm sorry, first Peter finishes, he says,

596
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:24,000
You have no part or portion in this matter for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours and pray the Lord that if possible the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.

597
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:28,000
Can we stop right there one second and go back to the verse where it says,

598
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:38,000
And even Simon himself believed and after being baptized he continued on with Philip. You hear that verse right? It's very clean.

599
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:44,000
And even Simon himself believed and afterwards he continued on, after being baptized he continued on with Philip.

600
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:50,000
And now here it says, You have no part or portion in this matter for your heart is not right before God.

601
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:58,000
Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours and pray the Lord that if possible the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.

602
00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:02,000
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity.

603
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,000
And then in verse 24 Simon says back, he says,

604
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:12,000
Pray to the Lord for me yourselves so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.

605
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:18,000
You see what he was going to do was he was going to go continue to chase that surprise, that astonishment, that stuff that he wanted to be involved in.

606
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:30,000
And he knew that and he also knew that this was a man of God with miraculous power that he now could not have because he was saying he was going to go away and not do what they were telling him to do.

607
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:36,000
So he asked them to pray for him that it wouldn't come about on him. You follow that?

608
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:42,000
If you can't provide it for yourself you may wind up more comfortable submitting to another.

609
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:47,000
You say pray for me because you know that when you pray no miracles actually happen.

610
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:52,000
Pray for me that my spiritual gifts will come out because you know you're not really planning on doing anything to bring out your spiritual gifts.

611
00:47:53,000 --> 00:48:01,000
Pray for me that I'll be more faithful to read my Bible because you know you're not really planning on making any serious effort on yourself to read more Bible.

612
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:09,000
The Bible says the Antichrist himself, 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13 will do magical things.

613
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:17,000
He'll stand up against God and do magical things and it says in Revelation 13 that he will attribute those magical things to God.

614
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:27,000
And so we see churches, quote unquote churches all over the place doing incredible things and they say it's for God by the power of God and so on and yet it is all a lie.

615
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:34,000
But they gather great followers who want to be astonished, amazed and surprised. I too would like to see God heal a paralyzed man.

616
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:47,000
That would be awesome. I've never seen that one. I have seen God heal people who are dying from cancer, people whose family had already been called in on their deathbed twice now in very recent history and once in a very very pronounced way.

617
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:53,000
Once I had a young lady who they called and they said they've already called the family and they think she's going to die.

618
00:48:54,000 --> 00:49:02,000
She's got a really high fever, they rescued her with life flight, took her and the Lord laid it on the heart and I set my alarm clock up every 15 minutes all night long and prayed for her because I knew I couldn't stay awake because I was so tired.

619
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:07,000
But I wanted to pray so I got up every 15 minutes all night long and prayed for her in the morning and I got the message that she was fine.

620
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:16,000
And it's been like that. Those are just a few. So I've seen miraculous healings and I would love to see more but that's not what it's about.

621
00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:23,000
I'm not waiting for God to do something miraculous. I'm not waiting for God to do something magical and if you are, you are in grave danger.

622
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:27,000
Grave danger. Because that is not what the Kingdom of God is about.

623
00:49:27,000 --> 00:49:34,000
In Mark 8, 11-12 the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Jesus seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

624
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:40,000
Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, that's Jesus, why does this generation seek for a sign?

625
00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:44,000
Truly I say to you no sign will be given this generation.

626
00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:50,000
And then Matthew records it possibly the same event or another. He records this way he says,

627
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:56,000
Some scribes and Pharisees said to him, Teacher we want to see a sign from you. But he answered and said to them,

628
00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:02,000
An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign. And yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.

629
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:09,000
For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

630
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:16,000
The men of Nineveh, wait for this, this hurts. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it.

631
00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:21,000
Because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. What was Jonah's message by the way?

632
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,000
Forty days you're all destroyed. He doesn't even mention God.

633
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:30,000
In Jonah's message to the Ninevites he never even mentions God.

634
00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:34,000
Doesn't say how God will destroy them and he doesn't tell them why God will destroy them.

635
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:38,000
All he did was say in forty days you'll be destroyed, God will destroy you all.

636
00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:45,000
And the king and the whole town and even the cows they put in sackcloth to repent before God and God spares them.

637
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:52,000
And now we see that they will stand up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn this generation because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

638
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:57,000
And behold something greater than Jonah is here. Who was greater than Jonah? Who is he talking about?

639
00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:00,000
He's talking about Jesus and the Kingdom of God and it's available to you.

640
00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:07,000
Verse 42 in that same chapter says the queen of the south will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it.

641
00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:12,000
She wasn't even saved as far as we know. But she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

642
00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:16,000
And behold something greater than Solomon is here. What is Jesus saying?

643
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:23,000
He's saying you don't need a miraculous event. You need the truth of God.

644
00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:30,000
You need the truth of God in your life at work working in you delivered by Holy Spirit power so that you will search for God.

645
00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:35,000
And then he and his infinite wisdom will reveal himself to you and you will be saved.

646
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:39,000
Paul wrote it this way Romans 1 he said for I am not ashamed of the gospel.

647
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:44,000
For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also the Greek.

648
00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:48,000
For the righteous of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written.

649
00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:50,000
But the righteous man shall live by faith.

650
00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:55,000
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.

651
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:59,000
And I submit to you that seeking a sign is unrighteousness according to what Jesus said.

652
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:02,000
Of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness.

653
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:07,000
Because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them.

654
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:15,000
He made it obvious. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen.

655
00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:19,000
Being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.

656
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:24,000
Here it is. You get out of bed in the morning you walk out on your lawn you get a cup of coffee.

657
00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:28,000
Quiet birds are out there picking at the worms in the grass still.

658
00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:32,000
The sun is shining burning away the clouds a little mist.

659
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:36,000
Maybe that scent of rain on our walk the bus stop.

660
00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:39,000
Smells like a camping.

661
00:52:39,000 --> 00:52:44,000
All the glory of God is revealed before you.

662
00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:47,000
The incredible creation of everything that God has done.

663
00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:49,000
And all you're doing is looking for a sign.

664
00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:52,000
Astonished surprised amazed and I want more.

665
00:52:53,000 --> 00:52:55,000
I want to do more. More sports more recreation more entertainment.

666
00:52:56,000 --> 00:53:01,000
More time with friends more conversation more pornography more drugs more addiction more money more freedom to buy more stuff.

667
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:05,000
You're looking for something magical.

668
00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:10,000
The world is a magical miraculous creation of God testifying of him every day.

669
00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:18,000
And you are required by the God of heaven to walk away from that and choose him instead.

670
00:53:19,000 --> 00:53:27,000
And frankly it might even be harder in a first world country like the United States of America where so much is available to us.

671
00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:31,000
To walk away from the fruits of prosperity and all the good things they can provide.

672
00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:36,000
We're looking for something better all the time and God is saying I am the better.

673
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:47,000
Mark 8 31 to 33 it says then he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes and be killed.

674
00:53:48,000 --> 00:53:51,000
And after three days rise again he was stating the matter plainly.

675
00:53:52,000 --> 00:53:53,000
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

676
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:58,000
But turning around and seeing his disciples he rebuked Peter and said get behind me Satan.

677
00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:01,000
For you are not setting your mind on God's interest but man's.

678
00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:06,000
Do you understand that in that moment he was saying that Peter was a little better than Simon.

679
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:10,000
The question is is he saying that you or me are a little better than Simon.

680
00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:12,000
That's the question.

681
00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:18,000
When people demand signs in the New Testament Jesus seems clear that we should not ask for them.

682
00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:21,000
Matthew 12 16 Luke 11.

683
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:24,000
So many signs have already been seen and given.

684
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:28,000
Jesus either says he will give none or he will only give the sign of Jonah.

685
00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:30,000
That's it. That's what Jesus said.

686
00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:33,000
Therefore he came again to Cana of Galilee.

687
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:41,000
This is John 4 where he had made the water wine and there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.

688
00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:47,000
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee he went to him and was imploring him to come down and heal his son.

689
00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:49,000
For he was at the point of death.

690
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:55,000
So Jesus said to him unless you people see signs and wonders you simply will not believe.

691
00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:59,000
The royal official said to him sir come down before my child dies.

692
00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:01,000
That sounds like he believes.

693
00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:03,000
Jesus said to him go your son lives.

694
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:07,000
The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.

695
00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:11,000
As he was now going down his slaves met him saying that his son was living.

696
00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:14,000
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better.

697
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:18,000
Then they said to him yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

698
00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:22,000
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him your son lives.

699
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:24,000
If it stopped there that would be awesome.

700
00:55:25,000 --> 00:55:26,000
But it goes on and it says this.

701
00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:28,000
Wait for it.

702
00:55:29,000 --> 00:55:33,000
And he himself believed and his whole household.

703
00:55:34,000 --> 00:55:39,000
This is again the second sign that Jesus performed when he had come out of Judea into Galilee.

704
00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:41,000
But there will come some.

705
00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:43,000
There will be some.

706
00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:54,000
How does Jesus say there will be none, no signs, no signs or just the sign of Jonah when in actuality he does signs and miracles after that point.

707
00:55:55,000 --> 00:55:56,000
Did you catch that?

708
00:55:57,000 --> 00:56:01,000
He said this generation will have no sign except the sign of Jonah.

709
00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:04,000
First he says no sign then no sign except the sign of Jonah.

710
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:07,000
But then he goes on to do signs and wonders.

711
00:56:07,000 --> 00:56:15,000
Because a sign or wonder in and of itself leads to astonishment not faith.

712
00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:17,000
You follow the logic?

713
00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:20,000
The greatest magician or illusionist uses sleight of hand.

714
00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:23,000
He can do it before you right in front of your eyes and you don't see it.

715
00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:29,000
Jesus and his chosen people can do it before you and even if you see it plain as day he walked he couldn't walk.

716
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:31,000
Now he walks. It's amazing.

717
00:56:32,000 --> 00:56:33,000
He was dying now he's living.

718
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:35,000
She was on her deathbed. Everybody was called in.

719
00:56:35,000 --> 00:56:36,000
She was alive.

720
00:56:37,000 --> 00:56:38,000
I couldn't. Now I can.

721
00:56:39,000 --> 00:56:47,000
Even if it's plain as day the sign or wonder as a manifestation of the truth is lost to that seeker of sign and wonders.

722
00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:50,000
You get nothing except the thrill.

723
00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:52,000
That's it.

724
00:56:53,000 --> 00:57:03,000
Jesus was saying they will get only the sign of him and Jonah because all those other signs had no saving power.

725
00:57:03,000 --> 00:57:11,000
They were all to testify about Jesus who had the saving power to God of the universe.

726
00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:19,000
Interesting verse that says now no one after laying a lamp covers it over with a container or puts it under a bed.

727
00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:22,000
But he puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in may see the light.

728
00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:29,000
For nothing is hidden that will not become evident nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

729
00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:32,000
We take this verse and talk about Christians hiding their light.

730
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:34,000
You become the light of the world.

731
00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:36,000
The light of the world is in you.

732
00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:39,000
We talk about Christians not sharing the gospel with people.

733
00:57:40,000 --> 00:57:47,000
But can you now not hear in it the Holy Spirit present automatically exhibits miraculous signs and wonders.

734
00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:54,000
The Holy Spirit in you will automatically lead you to be able to see that when amazing things happen they testify about God.

735
00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:58,000
You'll automatically be able to see the difference between a miracle and a magical event.

736
00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:02,000
You don't have to wait around and go I hope I'll see something magical someday.

737
00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:08,000
You're living in Jesus the Holy Spirit in you and if something miraculous happens that brings glory to God or reveals his truth.

738
00:58:09,000 --> 00:58:10,000
He'll make you see it.

739
00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:18,000
You just do what he's told you to. Read your Bible. Pray. Search him out. Follow him. Follow his commands. Love him. Share. Give.

740
00:58:18,000 --> 00:58:23,000
Care about each other. Serve. Do these things and God will make them crop up and happen.

741
00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:29,000
Mark 9. They brought the boy to him when he saw him immediately a spirit threw him into a compulsion and falling to the ground.

742
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:32,000
He began rolling around and foaming at the mouth and he asked his father.

743
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:41,000
How long has this been happening to him? Jesus asked and he said from childhood is often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.

744
00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:49,000
The man says but if you can do anything take pity on us and help us and Jesus said if you can.

745
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:53,000
All things are possible to him who believes.

746
00:58:54,000 --> 00:59:01,000
Immediately the boy's father cried out and said I do believe. Help me with my unbelief.

747
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:09,000
This sermon is warning you. Warning me about the dangers of waiting for something magical.

748
00:59:09,000 --> 00:59:12,000
Now let me tell you how to avoid all of those dangers.

749
00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:18,000
Number one. Believe first. This is about faith. Do you believe in God?

750
00:59:19,000 --> 00:59:23,000
If you need a miracle to believe in God. Wait for it. You will never believe in God.

751
00:59:24,000 --> 00:59:31,000
If you need a magical event to take place to make you feel like you believe in God. You will never believe in God.

752
00:59:32,000 --> 00:59:37,000
If you have become friends of the world the Bible says and you're involving yourself in the world's events affairs activities.

753
00:59:37,000 --> 00:59:44,000
Sometimes the exclusion of kingdom activities. Then you need to understand the Bible says that you've become an enemy of God.

754
00:59:45,000 --> 00:59:53,000
Believe first. Believe first and trust the God of heaven with all his power and all his glory.

755
00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:58,000
Miraculous events arise out of his doing something.

756
00:59:59,000 --> 01:00:03,000
Magical events arise out of someone else doing something.

757
01:00:03,000 --> 01:00:08,000
Usually they're trying to take glory for themselves. Even get followers for themselves.

758
01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:16,000
Even manipulate people. And if somebody does something no matter how incredible it is and they're using it for that purpose then you can dismiss them and their event.

759
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:21,000
Completely. Believe first.

760
01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:30,000
And believe not because of the signs and wonders. Be careful because even the crucifixion death, burial and resurrection is a sign.

761
01:00:30,000 --> 01:00:37,000
You follow? But there were people who got saved before Jesus was born.

762
01:00:38,000 --> 01:00:44,000
Even the crucifixion, the death, burial and resurrection is a sign. And if you only believe in Jesus because of the resurrection.

763
01:00:45,000 --> 01:00:50,000
Now we do believe in the resurrection but if you only believe in Jesus because of the resurrection.

764
01:00:50,000 --> 01:01:00,000
Then you may only be saved as long as you are astonished, surprised and still receiving additional miraculous events and testimonies.

765
01:01:01,000 --> 01:01:07,000
God means to challenge you to believe because you have heard.

766
01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:14,000
And because you find in you a need to have a right relationship with him.

767
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,000
We'll go back to Asa for a moment.

768
01:01:17,000 --> 01:01:22,000
Asa sought after God and he received a lot of blessings.

769
01:01:23,000 --> 01:01:29,000
And he said, this is it. We've done it. We've become the people of God. And the prophet said no it doesn't work that way.

770
01:01:30,000 --> 01:01:35,000
So you seek after God. God reveals himself. Then you become the people of God. The action is on God's part.

771
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:42,000
You believe. Believe today. Believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God. Believe in Jesus as Lord.

772
01:01:42,000 --> 01:01:49,000
Believe in God sent a savior in Jesus. You submit your life to God through Jesus.

773
01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:55,000
And then if something happens that's magical or miraculous, you'll be able to know which it is.

774
01:01:56,000 --> 01:02:02,000
But if you don't first believe and receive that first miraculous event of salvation, then there will be no other signs for you.

775
01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:10,000
No signs that can bring you to salvation. No signs that can move you across the line to put your sin behind you and your salvation.

776
01:02:10,000 --> 01:02:21,000
Become your way of walk. God means to challenge you to believe because you have heard and because you find a need in yourself to have a right relationship with him.

777
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:33,000
And he offers exactly that. To it. If you'll believe and receive the truth about Jesus Christ, then you'll be saved.

778
01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:41,000
And the only miracle that ever needs to happen will have happened.

779
01:02:42,000 --> 01:02:50,000
Did Jesus save the thief on the cross? He did. Today you will be with me in paradise.

780
01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:58,000
What did he do to be saved? He looked at Jesus, kind of defended him a little bit and said, Lord? He said, Lord?

781
01:02:58,000 --> 01:03:04,000
That's it. And Jesus said, you'll be with me in paradise today.

782
01:03:05,000 --> 01:03:10,000
One miracle. While he was in the worst pain that anyone could ever experience.

783
01:03:11,000 --> 01:03:16,000
A word that being crucified hurts so much that they had to create a word to describe the pain. Excruciation.

784
01:03:17,000 --> 01:03:22,000
Or excruciating. That only means the pain of the cross. You say, you stub your toe. Oh, that's excruciating. That's not true.

785
01:03:22,000 --> 01:03:27,000
That word was created for that pain. He was in that kind of pain. Jesus did not take his pain away.

786
01:03:28,000 --> 01:03:33,000
Jesus did not take him down off the cross. He died on the cross. And after he died on the cross, he went to heaven.

787
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:40,000
You want him to heal your broken limb. You want him to heal your hurting heart. You want him to heal your brain.

788
01:03:41,000 --> 01:03:46,000
He wants to take you to heaven. He wants to give you abundant life. You want him to heal your finances.

789
01:03:46,000 --> 01:03:51,000
You want him to show up when you're alone, lonely, need help. You want him to always be there for you.

790
01:03:52,000 --> 01:04:01,000
He wants to save your soul. You can ask him to heal you. And he might. He might.

791
01:04:02,000 --> 01:04:08,000
If that's the way it works the best. But one thing is for certain. He wants to take you to heaven when you die.

792
01:04:09,000 --> 01:04:13,000
And he wants to walk with you daily now. And that is the only miracle.

793
01:04:13,000 --> 01:04:17,000
I did say to a young man once who was looking for a sign about being saved.

794
01:04:18,000 --> 01:04:20,000
I said, well if you just turn your life over to Christ right now, the Holy Spirit will show up.

795
01:04:21,000 --> 01:04:24,000
And you'll know. Then a miracle will have happened.

796
01:04:25,000 --> 01:04:30,000
And if you have not felt the testimony of the Holy Spirit in you, the saying that you're saved, then there's a good chance you're not.

797
01:04:31,000 --> 01:04:35,000
We're going to start at round one. Do I believe?

798
01:04:36,000 --> 01:04:40,000
And believing, stop waiting for something magical to happen.

799
01:04:40,000 --> 01:04:46,000
Stop trying to do the things in your life that will increase your noradrenaline, that will increase your dopamine.

800
01:04:47,000 --> 01:04:55,000
So you're jumping up out of your seat. Yay! What a great play. Yay! What a great movie. Yay! What a great story. Yay! What a great song.

801
01:04:56,000 --> 01:05:00,000
Yes, there are tons and tons and tons of things in creation that will create noradrenaline and dopamine.

802
01:05:01,000 --> 01:05:06,000
But none of them will save you. By the way, noradrenaline are physical things. Not spiritual things at all.

803
01:05:06,000 --> 01:05:11,000
So when your body is gone, noradrenaline is gone, dopamine is gone.

804
01:05:12,000 --> 01:05:19,000
But if you will believe and follow the one true God, and you will say to Him, I don't know what's going to happen with my life,

805
01:05:20,000 --> 01:05:22,000
and I'm okay with that because I know you do know, you be Lord.

806
01:05:23,000 --> 01:05:29,000
And you will divorce yourself of the ways and the things of the world, systematically, sorting, slowly perhaps even.

807
01:05:30,000 --> 01:05:34,000
But divorce yourself and not get wrapped up in the ways and the things of the world that make you feel okay.

808
01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:45,000
And say, no, God is my friend. God is my Father. God alone is first. First I believe, and then I trust Him for any miraculous thing that He might want to do, beginning with salvation.

809
01:05:46,000 --> 01:05:51,000
If you will do that, then you are a child of God. Then you are a friend of God, not an enemy of God.

810
01:05:52,000 --> 01:05:55,000
Remember, friends with the world, enemy of God, but a friend of God.

811
01:05:55,000 --> 01:06:04,000
What are the dangers? What are the dangers of...what's in here? Sorry.

812
01:06:05,000 --> 01:06:10,000
What are the dangers of looking for a magical event?

813
01:06:11,000 --> 01:06:18,000
Well, you've got to choose when something happens. You've got to look away, or you've got to look deep.

814
01:06:18,000 --> 01:06:24,000
If it's a magical event, it has nothing to do with God. I had a positive experience, for example.

815
01:06:25,000 --> 01:06:31,000
Something felt good in me when that happened. I suggest that Jesus is saying, look away.

816
01:06:32,000 --> 01:06:40,000
If you find something in your life that really makes you feel good, and it's not God, I suggest that Jesus is saying, give it up.

817
01:06:40,000 --> 01:06:50,000
But if you find something in your life that is of God, from God, reveals the truth about God, is done in God's power, and it makes you feel good,

818
01:06:51,000 --> 01:06:59,000
or even convicts you of your sin, and after you repent you feel good, then embrace that. Look deeply. Never let it go.

819
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:05,000
I remember the event of my salvation as if it were yesterday, and it's been approaching three decades.

820
01:07:05,000 --> 01:07:13,000
And I would encourage you to do the same. And if you cannot, you didn't look deeply enough, and you need to look into your salvation.

821
01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:22,000
And that's trusting God first. I have the praise team to come forward and lead us into closing hymn at this time.

822
01:07:23,000 --> 01:07:29,000
If you're here today and you realize that you've been finding some of your excitement, your joy, your sustenance, whatever, in things of the world,

823
01:07:29,000 --> 01:07:35,000
if you're here today and you realize that you've been looking for something magical to happen, waiting for something miraculous to happen,

824
01:07:36,000 --> 01:07:46,000
I'm going to ask you to repent today, and say, God, if you want a miracle to happen, cool, I'm with it.

825
01:07:47,000 --> 01:07:50,000
That'll be fine, and I'll look deeply. When I'm ready to do it, I'll look deeply.

826
01:07:50,000 --> 01:08:01,000
But for everything else, I'm going to learn to turn away. I'm going to learn to not be sustained, not be astonished, not be lifted up.

827
01:08:02,000 --> 01:08:05,000
I say astonishment is that state in which your blood pressure drops and your heartbeat rises.

828
01:08:06,000 --> 01:08:11,000
If you found something in your life that makes your blood pressure drop and your heartbeat rise, and you want more of that,

829
01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:17,000
you have to decide whether that thing is from God. If you can't use it for God, you've got to repent and let it go.

830
01:08:17,000 --> 01:08:24,000
What will a competent man do, giving the whole world what he loses to sold?

831
01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:28,000
Well, he'll give you everything you need. In fact, worse than that,

832
01:08:29,000 --> 01:08:33,000
because he'll drag all of his family and friends down into hell, put them in the stream, and ride along with them,

833
01:08:33,000 --> 01:08:47,000
because they'll be tricky, the same things that you said before.