1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 In the name of Jesus, what a powerful name it is. 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:07,680 In the name of Jesus. 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,080 So we love it, do we not? 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,400 When a sermon is a-literated, 5 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,200 that means each point begins with the same letter, 6 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:18,720 has exactly three points 7 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,000 and then a poetic illustration of some kind 8 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,120 and then we're done. 9 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,480 But that's not gonna happen today. 10 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:25,960 So if you're looking forward to that, 11 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:26,920 you're not gonna get it 12 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,000 because the Lord laid it on my heart a certain way 13 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,360 and I'm going to try my best to give it to you 14 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,600 beginning to end the way that the Lord laid it on my heart 15 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,960 so that we can digest it together. 16 00:00:38,100 --> 00:00:40,680 When I was about 12 years old 17 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:42,200 and for some years before that, 18 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,740 actually my parents used to take us out to Raceway Park. 19 00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:46,640 I don't know if anybody remembers Raceway Park or not, 20 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,520 but used to be horse racing. 21 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:51,440 Yep, horse racing and mostly carriage racing. 22 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:52,680 So they had the horse and they had behind it 23 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,000 that little two-wheel buggy 24 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,200 and a jockey would sit in the back of that 25 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:57,400 and have that little whip thing 26 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,240 and race the horses around the track 27 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:00,720 and they move pretty darn fast. 28 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,000 And I enjoyed it going there 29 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:04,200 and seeing the horses racing 30 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,760 and then occasionally we would actually 31 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,140 take a little money and gamble. 32 00:01:07,140 --> 00:01:09,240 I was not saved at that time 33 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,040 and my parents were, my dad was saved 34 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:12,960 but very backslidden, not living for the Lord 35 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:14,320 by his own profession. 36 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:15,560 And my mom was not saved. 37 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,040 She didn't get saved until she was 56. 38 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,120 And so that was a family night entertainment for us. 39 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,980 We'd go out after nine o'clock on a Friday night 40 00:01:20,980 --> 00:01:22,400 when you could get in for free, 41 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,640 take five or 10 bucks bet on the horses. 42 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,080 And I really enjoyed seeing the horses run. 43 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,720 And one particular night we entered the park 44 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,040 just after nine. 45 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:32,560 We were there for a couple of races 46 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,960 and then all of a sudden I noticed a race 47 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:36,960 that was different than all the rest. 48 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:39,000 Imagine you're at the raceway 49 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:41,320 standing near the final stretch as I was. 50 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:43,820 The air was electric with anticipation. 51 00:01:43,820 --> 00:01:47,000 The horses and the jockeys were racing hard, 52 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,380 thundering around the track, throwing mud up behind them. 53 00:01:50,380 --> 00:01:52,120 But now they've been out of sight 54 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:53,820 as they were navigating the back stretch 55 00:01:53,820 --> 00:01:55,540 on the complete opposite side of the track. 56 00:01:55,540 --> 00:01:56,520 And you could just barely see, 57 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:58,560 you could tell who was in the lead. 58 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,080 I knew that it was a different kind of a race. 59 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,680 There was a horse racing that particular night 60 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:05,220 that went off 20 to one, 61 00:02:05,220 --> 00:02:07,240 which means if you bet a dollar and he won, 62 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:08,880 you'd get 20 bucks. 63 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:10,240 And there were people betting on it 64 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,640 because the rumor had it that this horse could win. 65 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:14,940 I don't know what people were betting, 66 00:02:14,940 --> 00:02:17,560 but I saw people standing all around me in that crowd 67 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,720 near the race, near the finish line, 68 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,800 gripping their slips from race, 69 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:24,440 from where they had bet in their hands. 70 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:25,640 And I imagined that some of them 71 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:28,160 had bet hundreds or thousands or whatever dollars. 72 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,640 And as the horses came out of that back stretch 73 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:33,240 and around the third turn and then the final turn, 74 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:37,280 and we couldn't see who was winning, every neck craned. 75 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:41,400 We leaned out to see who would be charging 76 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,560 around the final turn first, 77 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,600 with hoofs pounding, muscles straining, 78 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:47,800 jockeys urging the horses forward. 79 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:49,840 And then suddenly the crowd erupted, 80 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,480 cheering wildly because at that moment, 81 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,080 they could see the leader was that 20 to one horse. 82 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,240 And maybe everyone was suddenly going to get rich. 83 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,080 Some horses that started strong began to fade, 84 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:03,360 but not that horse. 85 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,200 Others that seemed behind previously, 86 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,880 now found a second wind surging forward 87 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,280 to try to overtake that 20 to one horse. 88 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,120 And the crowd was straining to see every hoof 89 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:15,840 hit the ground. 90 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,040 The horse did not win, edged out by a nose. 91 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,320 So those that bet the horse to win at 20 to one, 92 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,120 they didn't, times 20 their family fortune 93 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,020 that they had gambled away. 94 00:03:27,020 --> 00:03:30,600 Some people bet the horse as what's called a box ticket, 95 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:31,760 first or second place. 96 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:32,720 They thought, well, he might not win, 97 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:33,620 but he might come in second. 98 00:03:33,620 --> 00:03:35,440 And they did win because he came in second. 99 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:36,880 And the favored horse, 100 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,880 the horse that everybody thought was going to win, 101 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,920 that went off at less than one to one odds. 102 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,600 So basically didn't make any money whatsoever. 103 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:48,600 He did win by a nose and the cheers died down. 104 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,520 But what really struck me was that dramatic moment, 105 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,480 waiting for the final turn as everyone was craning, 106 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:55,320 everyone was leaning out, 107 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,360 everybody was hoping that their horse would be in the lead. 108 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:01,160 They were hoping for the turn. 109 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,160 I submit to you that a lot of people 110 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,720 are living their lives that way now. 111 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:07,840 As the crowd strains to see, 112 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,080 and the hush fell upon the crowd 113 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,040 just before the horses appeared. 114 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,720 For many, life is like that hush. 115 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:16,560 A dramatic moment, waiting for the turn, 116 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:18,080 hoping for the turn, 117 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,200 hoping to experience a new day, something different. 118 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:22,920 And right now, working their way 119 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:24,820 through the humdrum existence, 120 00:04:24,820 --> 00:04:26,860 as others seem to be doing the same. 121 00:04:26,860 --> 00:04:30,600 But around them, all the while, the battle rages. 122 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,320 We cannot simply go about our business. 123 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,080 We cannot forever keep doing the things we have done, 124 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:36,360 waiting for someone or something 125 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,320 to save us from our madness. 126 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,840 For so many, the repeating cycle goes on and on 127 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:42,720 as they encounter again and again, 128 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,660 a moment in time at which they desperately need a turn, 129 00:04:46,660 --> 00:04:49,440 a turn of fate, a turn of circumstance. 130 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:50,760 They look longingly. 131 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:51,920 They hope beyond hope. 132 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:53,520 They hope for riches or for comforts 133 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:55,800 or for relationship or validation. 134 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,760 Will today be the day that things get better? 135 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:00,120 They ask themselves. 136 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,080 Humans are creative and strong and intelligent. 137 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:07,160 All people have their merit and can do something incredible. 138 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,960 And they try to use all these incredible traits 139 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:11,720 to bring about that term. 140 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:13,500 Our text for the day is in 1 John, 141 00:05:13,500 --> 00:05:15,520 but we're not going there just yet. 142 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,840 We're gonna pop over to the book of Ecclesiastes 143 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:19,960 and suck out a verse in the chapter seven. 144 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:21,680 If you're flipping through the Bible, 145 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,440 I'll dare you to try to find it by the time I read it. 146 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,600 It's Ecclesiastes chapter seven, verse 29. 147 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:28,580 Praise the Lord. 148 00:05:28,580 --> 00:05:29,480 It says this. 149 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:31,920 Now, he's been, this is in the context, 150 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:33,800 he's been examining mankind. 151 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,000 He's been looking at life such as it is. 152 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:37,880 He's been looking for men of quality, 153 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,860 men of character or women of quality, women of character. 154 00:05:40,860 --> 00:05:44,160 This is what he says in Ecclesiastes seven, verse 29. 155 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:46,640 He says, behold, look here, behold, 156 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,400 I have found only this in all my searching, bless you, 157 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,280 in all my searching, I have found only this, 158 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:54,460 that God made men upright, 159 00:05:54,460 --> 00:05:57,740 but they have sought out many devices. 160 00:05:57,740 --> 00:06:01,200 So observing men, his observations lead to this. 161 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:02,760 He comes down to just one thing, 162 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:06,000 that people have a lot of schemes, a lot of plans, 163 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,800 and make a lot of efforts to try to turn things 164 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:11,720 the way they want them to go. 165 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,800 People are creative, intelligent, and strong, 166 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:17,520 even destructive at times, 167 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:19,440 and they are trying to use their abilities 168 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,680 to turn their fortunes. 169 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,440 People live out hatched schemes 170 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,080 in trying to kick off the next chapter of their lives. 171 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,060 I had a dream just last night. 172 00:06:30,060 --> 00:06:31,880 I've been listening to my dreams a lot lately 173 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,120 since the, about, I'd say, what has it been? 174 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,560 Eight weeks ago, we had a sermon on listening to your dreams 175 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,400 and how God is speaking to us while we are asleep, 176 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:41,680 and we supported it with scripture, 177 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:43,600 and I believed it firmly, 178 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:44,800 and I have tried to listen to my dreams. 179 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,720 I had a dream last night about silver plates 180 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:49,160 made of pure silver, 181 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,800 and an artist was etching those silver plates meticulously 182 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,200 with intricate patterns of flowers and roses. 183 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:59,000 In my dreams, the plates were then shelved, 184 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,360 and the shelves were covered everywhere 185 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,640 and overlapping all the way up to a 60-foot feeling, 186 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:06,480 and I thought, how marvelous, how beautiful, 187 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:08,200 how awesome that picture is, 188 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,120 those plates with those carved rose patterns on them 189 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:13,280 all the way to the ceiling. 190 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,800 What wealth is therein contained? 191 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,640 But in my dream, I realized that the artist 192 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:19,800 was doing something. 193 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,840 Not only was he carving beautiful etchings on these plates 194 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,280 and storing them all the way up for all to see, 195 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,640 but there were scraps of silver 196 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:29,160 being etched free from the plates, 197 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,320 and they were piling up in mounds. 198 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,160 And it struck me then that the silver powder 199 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,240 etched off the plates by the tiny rotating blade 200 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:38,880 was enough to create wealth. 201 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,600 In fact, it was enough to fuel an army 202 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,960 to buy, well, almost anything. 203 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,840 All those plates and all that little bit of silver 204 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,280 that was etched off piling up 205 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:50,000 was enough to buy almost anything. 206 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,560 This is what Satan has gotten good at. 207 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,880 He's living off the scraps, 208 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,880 and the wise, learned, and interesting among humans 209 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,620 may find themselves doing the same thing. 210 00:08:01,620 --> 00:08:03,640 They're living off the scraps. 211 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:05,560 When you were created for something, 212 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,340 so much more, and when you are living off the scraps, 213 00:08:09,340 --> 00:08:11,200 created for something so much more, 214 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,280 that is little more than a living death. 215 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:15,040 Caution the wise among us. 216 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:16,800 You may be here today listening to the Word of God 217 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,640 because you realize that it is wise 218 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:19,840 to hear from the God of heaven 219 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:21,480 because He is wiser than we are. 220 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,800 But let us be cautioned 221 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,000 that we are not living off the scraps. 222 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,000 It would be very easy for us to then 223 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,200 take the scraps of the kingdom, 224 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:33,720 take the scraps of what God has done, the little bits, 225 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,000 and at the same time then, 226 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:36,680 to try to turn our lives 227 00:08:36,680 --> 00:08:38,040 in the directions that we want them to go, 228 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:41,520 to exercise what are called machinations, schemes. 229 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:42,920 By the way, just out of curiosity, 230 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,160 do you know how many worship songs we sing 231 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:46,840 have the word schemes in it? 232 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:48,600 Amalia, you want to take a guess? 233 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:49,440 Take a stab at it? 234 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:50,760 Schemes, the word. 235 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:52,400 Not very many. 236 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,360 I only know of one, and we sang it today. 237 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:57,200 Isn't that interesting? 238 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,240 And so we might exercise our schemes 239 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:01,880 and try to turn our life out 240 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,080 to be what we think it should be, 241 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,280 better under heaven, we think we'll be. 242 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:08,480 We use the term, Jesus came to die 243 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:10,080 for us to have abundant life, 244 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,240 and we think, well, then we should do pretty well, right? 245 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:14,040 And exercise our schemes. 246 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:18,520 And Matthew four, Satan himself attempted to tempt Jesus. 247 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:19,720 It's pretty interesting, really, 248 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:22,560 because I don't know when he begins to tempt Jesus 249 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:24,000 that he knows who Jesus is. 250 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:25,480 Some theologians think he did. 251 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:26,560 Some theologians think he did, 252 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:28,080 but he was surely a great teacher, 253 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,320 and people were recognizing him and flocking to him, 254 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:32,320 and Satan comes to tempt him. 255 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:34,360 Do you remember what the first temptation was? 256 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,160 He was in the desert or the wilderness 257 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,720 after 40 days of not having eaten, 258 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:40,280 and what did Satan tell him to do? 259 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:41,120 Tell me, tell me. 260 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:42,160 Turn the bread to stone. 261 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:43,920 Turn the stone to bread, right? 262 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:44,920 He could do that. 263 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:45,840 He had the power to do that. 264 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:47,320 He could do it at any time he wanted, 265 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,520 but he was 40 days in and not having eaten, 266 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,120 and didn't it just make logical sense 267 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:53,280 to exercise some small part of his power 268 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:55,120 to turn his circumstance? 269 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:56,920 That was the argument, and what did Jesus say? 270 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:57,760 Oh no. 271 00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:59,960 So for man does not live by bread alone, 272 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:03,800 but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God, right? 273 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,200 So Jesus would not, in his example, 274 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,200 would not turn his own fate by machinations 275 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,880 that were given to him as capabilities that he could do 276 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,000 by the very nature of who he was. 277 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,400 The turn, at that moment of the turn, 278 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:19,800 next strain to see who was in the lead, 279 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:21,920 seeking beneficial results. 280 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:23,840 I hope it's gonna turn out for my favor. 281 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,040 I hope it's going to go well. 282 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,000 Oh, hope can be such a betrayer, 283 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,880 because it can lead us to exercise these machinations 284 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,080 or schemes, these things that we try to do 285 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:34,560 to make it turn out the way we want. 286 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:36,720 But it's not just the turn, there's something more, 287 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,560 because the crowd was absolutely quiet 288 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:41,040 waiting for the turn, waiting for the horses to come around, 289 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,840 and as the horses came around the turn, what happened? 290 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:44,920 The reveal. 291 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:46,920 The reveal was next. 292 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,340 The next strained, and there's some advantages 293 00:10:49,340 --> 00:10:51,080 to be gained in the reveal. 294 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,280 If you are the one who first sees it, 295 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,400 perhaps people will listen to you. 296 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,600 Perhaps people will give you kudos. 297 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,080 Remember when we did the little object lesson? 298 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:02,980 Up here on the front row, there were two young people, 299 00:11:02,980 --> 00:11:05,140 both children, who called out the name of the book 300 00:11:05,140 --> 00:11:07,480 that Ariana was reading, and they both wanted credit. 301 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,340 Nothing wrong with wanting credit, 302 00:11:09,340 --> 00:11:11,400 but it reminds us that as humans, 303 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:13,960 we want to be present at the reveal, 304 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:15,400 so that we can be in the know, 305 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:17,320 so that we can know what's going on. 306 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:19,180 And there was a great effort by humanity 307 00:11:19,180 --> 00:11:22,640 to control both the turn and the reveal. 308 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,640 In Acts 17, Paul was traveling in Athens, 309 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:29,400 and he saw a pillar, a monument, 310 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,040 an altar created to an unknown God. 311 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,040 The truth is that Athenians were just covering their bases 312 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,040 in case the unknown God really wanted some worship, right? 313 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,240 If he really wanted some worship, or deserved some worship, 314 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:41,980 then we should have an altar to him. 315 00:11:41,980 --> 00:11:44,120 Cover our bases, and as humans, this is what we do. 316 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,120 We cover our bases, and I submit to you 317 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,040 that when you cover your bases in your strength 318 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,640 and in your power that God has given you, 319 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,580 you're doing little more than living off scraps, 320 00:11:52,580 --> 00:11:56,320 and living off scraps is a little more than living dead. 321 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:01,160 The very anticipated moment of the turn and the reveal, 322 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,240 and Jesus was not done being tempted, right? 323 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:05,800 Satan didn't just suddenly leave him 324 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,800 after he said, no, everyone lives out of the word, 325 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:10,160 out of the mouth of God. 326 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:11,480 No, he tempted him again. 327 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,040 He took him up top of the temple, 328 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:14,280 and he said, cast yourself down, 329 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,520 because the word of God says, remember, 330 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:18,760 a man lives by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. 331 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,040 The word of God says, if you cast yourself down, 332 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,680 the angels will not let you dash your foot against the stone. 333 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:24,840 And Jesus said, oh no, 334 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:26,520 thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 335 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:28,160 See, he could throw himself down, 336 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:30,680 and he could depend upon it in his own machinations, 337 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:32,960 and throwing himself down, he could depend upon God 338 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:34,920 to do what God has promised to do, 339 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:35,760 and this is what we do. 340 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,560 We're working our schemes, and then we depend upon God 341 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:40,480 to do what it is that God has promised to do 342 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,120 while we are busy working our schemes 343 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:43,600 to turn the circumstances, 344 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:46,100 and we are expecting God to do something amazing, 345 00:12:46,100 --> 00:12:48,660 but Jesus wouldn't do it, not that way. 346 00:12:48,660 --> 00:12:50,620 No, he wanted to work the plan of God, 347 00:12:50,620 --> 00:12:51,680 and he said, no, it says, 348 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:53,160 thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, 349 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,520 and then on top of that, once more, he took him, 350 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,800 and he took him up to the top of the world, so to speak, 351 00:12:57,800 --> 00:12:59,240 and a great amount looked down at the top of the world, 352 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:00,840 and he said, this has been given to me to rule, 353 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,520 which is not entirely an untruth. 354 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:06,100 We know that Satan does have a substantial amount of power 355 00:13:06,100 --> 00:13:08,640 in the world, in fact, it's in the grips of the unholy one 356 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:10,960 to some extent, maybe to every extent. 357 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:12,480 And he said, if you'll but worship me, 358 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:14,680 I'll give you rule of all of this. 359 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:19,680 And Jesus said, oh no, no, no, worship the Father alone. 360 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:23,520 The reveal and the turn and the reveal. 361 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,080 Now, 1 John 5, flip there with me if you would, 362 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:28,400 the text of the day. 363 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,880 The context and the text of this will kind of, 364 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:34,960 it was a little overwhelming to me, 365 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:38,100 and so I hope you will be as impacted by it as I was. 366 00:13:38,100 --> 00:13:41,360 1 John 5, beginning in verse 19, just two verses, 367 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:42,200 it's all we need. 368 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,520 1 John 5, beginning in verse 19, 369 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:47,660 we know that we are of God, 370 00:13:47,660 --> 00:13:52,300 and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 371 00:13:52,300 --> 00:13:54,700 And we know that the Son of God has come 372 00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:56,980 and has given us understanding 373 00:13:56,980 --> 00:13:59,780 in order that we might know him who is true, 374 00:13:59,780 --> 00:14:04,120 and we are in him who is true, in his Son, Jesus Christ. 375 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:08,020 This is the true God and eternal life. 376 00:14:08,020 --> 00:14:09,780 He goes on to say one more, just one more verse, 377 00:14:09,780 --> 00:14:11,420 guard yourself from idols. 378 00:14:11,420 --> 00:14:14,260 I think we should be very cautious under the circumstance 379 00:14:14,260 --> 00:14:16,540 to guard ourselves from idols. 380 00:14:16,540 --> 00:14:18,420 Now what's interesting in these verses is 381 00:14:18,420 --> 00:14:20,380 we know lots of things, don't we know lots of things? 382 00:14:20,380 --> 00:14:21,340 I mean, we know lots of things, 383 00:14:21,340 --> 00:14:22,660 and a lot of times we think we know something 384 00:14:22,660 --> 00:14:25,220 that we don't actually know, right? 385 00:14:25,220 --> 00:14:28,300 But this particular word for know is different. 386 00:14:28,300 --> 00:14:29,580 There are other words for know, 387 00:14:29,580 --> 00:14:31,600 but the one that's used here is a little different. 388 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,220 It means to have experienced something. 389 00:14:34,220 --> 00:14:37,020 You know it because you felt it, because you tasted it, 390 00:14:37,020 --> 00:14:40,060 because you touched it, because you smelt it, 391 00:14:40,060 --> 00:14:41,060 because you heard it. 392 00:14:41,060 --> 00:14:43,580 You know it because you actually experienced it. 393 00:14:43,580 --> 00:14:46,120 And so let's go back and read those verses one more time 394 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:47,380 with that concept in mind. 395 00:14:47,380 --> 00:14:51,740 It says, we have experienced and therefore know 396 00:14:51,740 --> 00:14:53,980 that we are God and that the whole world lies 397 00:14:53,980 --> 00:14:54,860 in the power of the evil one. 398 00:14:54,860 --> 00:14:56,680 And we have experienced and know 399 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:59,620 that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding 400 00:14:59,620 --> 00:15:03,900 so that we may experience and know him who is true. 401 00:15:03,900 --> 00:15:08,300 And we are in him who is true and in his son, Jesus Christ. 402 00:15:08,300 --> 00:15:10,460 This is the true God and eternal life. 403 00:15:10,460 --> 00:15:12,680 See, there's a great deal of danger in thinking 404 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,180 that you get saved just by knowing something, 405 00:15:15,180 --> 00:15:16,100 but that's not what this is. 406 00:15:16,100 --> 00:15:18,860 You get saved by the presence of the God of the universe. 407 00:15:18,860 --> 00:15:21,620 And when God is in you and you experience him, 408 00:15:21,620 --> 00:15:23,180 there's no denying yet. 409 00:15:23,180 --> 00:15:25,840 Known equals experienced. 410 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,020 Minor reveals are then discounted. 411 00:15:29,020 --> 00:15:32,280 Anything else you might come to know along the way 412 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:34,300 is then discounted. 413 00:15:34,300 --> 00:15:36,860 Our minds have become fit for the tearing down 414 00:15:36,860 --> 00:15:39,540 of strongholds because we have experienced the presence 415 00:15:39,540 --> 00:15:40,380 of the living God. 416 00:15:40,380 --> 00:15:43,380 Second Corinthians 10 verses three to five say as follows, 417 00:15:43,380 --> 00:15:45,700 for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war 418 00:15:45,700 --> 00:15:47,040 according to the flesh. 419 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,400 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, 420 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,980 but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 421 00:15:52,980 --> 00:15:56,240 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised 422 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:57,940 up against the knowledge of God. 423 00:15:57,940 --> 00:16:00,140 And we are taking every thought captive 424 00:16:00,140 --> 00:16:01,600 to the obedience of Christ. 425 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:04,420 Now that you have personally experienced the God of heaven, 426 00:16:04,420 --> 00:16:06,880 it doesn't matter if someone would make the best argument 427 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:08,080 there ever could be. 428 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,600 Or if someone would come and kill your flesh. 429 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:12,960 Because you have personally experienced God 430 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:14,760 through Jesus Christ, his son. 431 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,100 There is no denying it now. 432 00:16:17,100 --> 00:16:18,940 It's not going to be undone. 433 00:16:18,940 --> 00:16:22,940 The reveal has taken place. 434 00:16:22,940 --> 00:16:25,060 But at the reveal, some are still surprised. 435 00:16:25,060 --> 00:16:27,660 Jesus said to Nicodemus, do not marvel. 436 00:16:27,660 --> 00:16:29,180 Do not marvel when I say unto you, 437 00:16:29,180 --> 00:16:30,560 you must be born again. 438 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,720 You have to have a fresh start. 439 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,160 You cannot know God, experience him personally 440 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:37,280 through his son, Jesus Christ, 441 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:38,620 which is the only way to be saved, 442 00:16:38,620 --> 00:16:40,940 be a Christian, be a member of the family of God. 443 00:16:40,940 --> 00:16:44,540 You cannot do that unless you get a fresh start, he says. 444 00:16:44,540 --> 00:16:47,220 Don't be surprised that I said that, Jesus said. 445 00:16:47,220 --> 00:16:49,460 But it is surprising to many, 446 00:16:49,460 --> 00:16:52,200 especially those who are actively relying 447 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,900 upon their own machinations for the term. 448 00:16:54,900 --> 00:16:56,900 Don't be surprised, Jesus said. 449 00:16:56,900 --> 00:16:59,520 And then listen to Revelations chapter three, 450 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,160 beginning of verse seven, actually seven through 13. 451 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:03,740 This is talking about Jesus 452 00:17:03,740 --> 00:17:06,900 as Jesus is addressing the church of Philippi 453 00:17:06,900 --> 00:17:08,080 and he's giving this message. 454 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,580 He says, he who is holy, who is true, 455 00:17:10,580 --> 00:17:13,620 who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, 456 00:17:13,620 --> 00:17:15,740 and who shuts and no one opens, says this. 457 00:17:15,740 --> 00:17:18,380 Now that's pretty cool because what that's saying is, 458 00:17:18,380 --> 00:17:21,020 Jesus can do it and nobody can undo it. 459 00:17:21,020 --> 00:17:21,860 You follow? 460 00:17:21,860 --> 00:17:23,760 Jesus can do it and nobody can undo it. 461 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:25,600 Not you, not me, not anybody. 462 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:28,740 But there is a grave danger of people attempting to do it 463 00:17:28,740 --> 00:17:31,060 like Jesus does it and no one can. 464 00:17:31,060 --> 00:17:34,940 He alone is the one who opens and no one can shut. 465 00:17:34,940 --> 00:17:35,980 That's what it's saying. 466 00:17:35,980 --> 00:17:37,240 And this is what it says. 467 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,540 Jesus now speaking essentially, he says, I know your deeds. 468 00:17:40,540 --> 00:17:43,500 Behold, I have put before you an open door 469 00:17:43,500 --> 00:17:46,620 which no one can shut because you have a little power 470 00:17:46,620 --> 00:17:49,620 and have kept my word and have not denied my name. 471 00:17:49,620 --> 00:17:50,660 So it's a three point right there. 472 00:17:50,660 --> 00:17:52,180 It could have been a sermon, could be a sermon. 473 00:17:52,180 --> 00:17:53,980 You can go preach a sermon later if you want. 474 00:17:53,980 --> 00:17:56,020 A little power and have kept my word 475 00:17:56,020 --> 00:17:57,380 and have not denied my name. 476 00:17:57,380 --> 00:17:59,740 That was the three things that qualified them 477 00:17:59,740 --> 00:18:02,880 that Jesus set up the open door and no one could shut. 478 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:04,340 He says, could you have a little power 479 00:18:04,340 --> 00:18:06,740 and have kept my word and have not denied my name? 480 00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:07,620 And verse nine says this, 481 00:18:07,620 --> 00:18:12,220 behold, I will call those of the synagogue of Satan 482 00:18:12,220 --> 00:18:15,460 who say that they are Jews and not, but lie. 483 00:18:15,460 --> 00:18:18,780 I will make them come and bow down at your feet 484 00:18:18,780 --> 00:18:21,540 and make them know that I have loved you 485 00:18:21,540 --> 00:18:25,020 because you have kept the word of my perseverance. 486 00:18:25,020 --> 00:18:27,900 I also will keep you from the hour of testing, 487 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:30,640 that hour which is about to come upon the whole world 488 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:32,620 to test those who dwell on the earth. 489 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:35,020 Verse 11 says, I am coming quickly. 490 00:18:35,020 --> 00:18:40,020 Pull fast what you have so that no one will take your crown. 491 00:18:40,060 --> 00:18:42,340 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar 492 00:18:42,340 --> 00:18:43,860 in the temple of my God. 493 00:18:43,860 --> 00:18:45,780 And he will not go out from it anymore. 494 00:18:45,780 --> 00:18:48,020 And I will write on him the name of my God 495 00:18:48,020 --> 00:18:50,820 and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, 496 00:18:50,820 --> 00:18:54,220 which comes down out of heaven for my God and my new name. 497 00:18:54,220 --> 00:18:56,900 He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says 498 00:18:56,900 --> 00:18:58,460 to the churches. 499 00:18:58,460 --> 00:19:01,100 And then elsewhere, as Jesus was actually walking 500 00:19:01,100 --> 00:19:04,060 on the earth, nearing to being crucified, 501 00:19:04,060 --> 00:19:06,980 Jesus grew weary and we might say maybe tired 502 00:19:06,980 --> 00:19:09,700 of men's scheming. 503 00:19:09,700 --> 00:19:12,780 And he said this, this is from John 12, 27 to 32, 504 00:19:12,780 --> 00:19:14,820 now my soul has become troubled. 505 00:19:14,820 --> 00:19:15,780 That's pretty crazy. 506 00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:19,780 Jesus, God the Son, says my soul has become troubled. 507 00:19:19,780 --> 00:19:21,060 And what shall I say? 508 00:19:21,060 --> 00:19:22,900 Father, save me from this hour. 509 00:19:22,900 --> 00:19:25,060 But for this purpose I came to this hour. 510 00:19:25,060 --> 00:19:27,060 Father, glorify your name. 511 00:19:27,060 --> 00:19:28,820 Then a voice came out of heaven. 512 00:19:28,820 --> 00:19:32,260 I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again. 513 00:19:32,260 --> 00:19:34,300 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it 514 00:19:34,300 --> 00:19:35,540 were saying that it had thundered. 515 00:19:35,540 --> 00:19:38,460 Others were saying an angel has spoken to him. 516 00:19:38,460 --> 00:19:41,040 Jesus answered and said, this voice has not come 517 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,860 for my sake, but for your sakes. 518 00:19:43,860 --> 00:19:45,660 Now judgment is upon the world. 519 00:19:45,660 --> 00:19:48,900 Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 520 00:19:48,900 --> 00:19:52,340 And if I, if I am lifted up from the earth, 521 00:19:52,340 --> 00:19:55,740 I will draw all men to myself. 522 00:19:55,740 --> 00:20:00,280 Listen clearly, the big reveal has already happened. 523 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,740 The thing that everyone out there that's working 524 00:20:02,740 --> 00:20:04,860 in their own schemes or machinations is waiting for, 525 00:20:04,860 --> 00:20:07,420 that they're craning their heads to see the turn. 526 00:20:07,420 --> 00:20:11,980 The turn and the reveal were already coming out of the turn. 527 00:20:11,980 --> 00:20:13,160 It has already happened. 528 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:15,420 And ultimately they did lift him up. 529 00:20:15,420 --> 00:20:17,340 They hung him on a cross. 530 00:20:17,340 --> 00:20:18,660 And because that is true, 531 00:20:18,660 --> 00:20:21,940 he is now drawing all men to himself. 532 00:20:21,940 --> 00:20:24,020 The turn has already come. 533 00:20:24,020 --> 00:20:26,780 The reveal has already come. 534 00:20:26,780 --> 00:20:29,460 That's why Paul was able to say in Acts 17 535 00:20:29,460 --> 00:20:33,340 that God's expectations have now changed. 536 00:20:33,340 --> 00:20:34,980 Remember that started with his idea, 537 00:20:34,980 --> 00:20:38,160 I see, I saw an altar dedicated to an unknown God. 538 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:39,260 They were covering their bases. 539 00:20:39,260 --> 00:20:41,340 Their schemes were in place. 540 00:20:41,340 --> 00:20:43,420 And he says, it is that unknown God, 541 00:20:43,420 --> 00:20:44,900 which I now preach to you. 542 00:20:44,900 --> 00:20:46,860 And he goes on to preach this. 543 00:20:46,860 --> 00:20:48,380 A moment later, he says, therefore, 544 00:20:48,380 --> 00:20:50,540 having overlooked the times of ignorance, 545 00:20:50,540 --> 00:20:52,360 God is now declaring to men 546 00:20:52,360 --> 00:20:55,160 that all people everywhere should repent 547 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,580 because he has fixed the day in which he will judge 548 00:20:57,580 --> 00:20:59,660 the world in righteousness through a man 549 00:20:59,660 --> 00:21:01,020 whom he has appointed, 550 00:21:01,020 --> 00:21:03,220 having furnished proof to all men 551 00:21:03,220 --> 00:21:06,580 by raising him from the dead. 552 00:21:06,580 --> 00:21:08,780 If you've not experienced salvation 553 00:21:08,780 --> 00:21:10,540 through Jesus Christ in earnest, 554 00:21:10,540 --> 00:21:12,980 if you're working in your own schemes or machinations, 555 00:21:12,980 --> 00:21:15,500 if you're trying to anticipate the turn, 556 00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:17,680 thinking eventually things will get better, 557 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,380 instead, get saved now. 558 00:21:20,380 --> 00:21:23,100 Submit your life, your mind, your heart, your soul, 559 00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:25,100 your strength, your reality, your finances, 560 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:26,740 your home, your existence. 561 00:21:26,740 --> 00:21:28,860 Submit yourself and everything that you are, 562 00:21:28,860 --> 00:21:30,700 everything that God has given you to possess 563 00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:35,100 to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and do it now. 564 00:21:35,100 --> 00:21:37,660 Stop awaiting the turn or the reveal 565 00:21:37,660 --> 00:21:39,940 and realize it's already been done. 566 00:21:39,940 --> 00:21:42,020 There is not a moment to spare. 567 00:21:42,020 --> 00:21:44,380 You must be saved now. 568 00:21:44,380 --> 00:21:46,700 You say, well, I've already let people think I'm saved 569 00:21:46,700 --> 00:21:48,020 for 10 years, 20 years. 570 00:21:48,020 --> 00:21:50,700 I've already been trying to serve Jesus, whatever. 571 00:21:50,700 --> 00:21:53,300 I'm not asking you to try to serve Jesus. 572 00:21:53,300 --> 00:21:55,560 I'm asking you to take everything that you have, 573 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:57,860 have ever had and ever will have 574 00:21:57,860 --> 00:22:00,980 and dedicate it to the Lord God of heaven 575 00:22:00,980 --> 00:22:02,740 through his son, Jesus Christ. 576 00:22:02,740 --> 00:22:05,100 A lot of us here might say, well, I've already done that. 577 00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:07,580 I've already submitted my life to Jesus. 578 00:22:07,580 --> 00:22:09,460 The best I know how, I've surrendered 579 00:22:09,460 --> 00:22:11,300 and I've stopped working my own schemes 580 00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:12,820 and I'm trying daily to say, 581 00:22:12,820 --> 00:22:14,200 what is it that you would have me to do, God? 582 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:15,380 I don't get out of bed and think, okay, 583 00:22:15,380 --> 00:22:17,540 I think I'll do this, this and this to try to better 584 00:22:17,540 --> 00:22:19,300 or this, this and this to try to bring out a turn 585 00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:20,140 in my circumstances. 586 00:22:20,140 --> 00:22:23,180 I don't plan or scheme or try to work it out my own way. 587 00:22:23,180 --> 00:22:25,580 I continually submit my life to the Lord 588 00:22:25,580 --> 00:22:27,020 and you might say that and I would say, 589 00:22:27,020 --> 00:22:29,340 if that's true, you're probably saved. 590 00:22:29,340 --> 00:22:32,080 Up to you and God to know that for sure, not my place, 591 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:33,500 but you're probably saved. 592 00:22:33,500 --> 00:22:36,900 And if that then is true, then take your cue from scripture 593 00:22:36,900 --> 00:22:38,620 how we are now supposed to be. 594 00:22:38,620 --> 00:22:40,700 You'll notice that the lightning point says, 595 00:22:40,700 --> 00:22:42,100 how to live knowing. 596 00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:44,380 In other words, how to live having experienced 597 00:22:44,380 --> 00:22:46,980 the presence of a holy God in you 598 00:22:46,980 --> 00:22:49,420 and where it will take you. 599 00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:51,300 And now in scripture, we look at then, okay, 600 00:22:51,300 --> 00:22:53,660 let's say we have experienced the turn 601 00:22:53,660 --> 00:22:55,500 and the reveal ourselves. 602 00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:57,580 What effects should that have? 603 00:22:57,580 --> 00:23:00,460 It reminded me immediately of Psalm 126. 604 00:23:00,460 --> 00:23:03,580 I'm gonna read you verses one through six of Psalm 126. 605 00:23:03,580 --> 00:23:06,220 When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion, 606 00:23:06,220 --> 00:23:08,460 we were like those who dream. 607 00:23:08,460 --> 00:23:10,300 In other words, they were amazed. 608 00:23:10,300 --> 00:23:12,480 It was so good, they were coming home. 609 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,580 Then our mouth was filled with laughter. 610 00:23:14,580 --> 00:23:16,460 Wow, this is so good. 611 00:23:16,460 --> 00:23:18,100 Look what God has done. 612 00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:20,860 And our tongue with joyful shouting, 613 00:23:20,860 --> 00:23:25,180 yes, amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord. 614 00:23:25,180 --> 00:23:27,620 Where is the joy of Christians? 615 00:23:27,620 --> 00:23:29,260 Do you not understand? 616 00:23:29,260 --> 00:23:32,100 When the Lord brought them back, the captives of Zion, 617 00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:33,500 their mouth was filled with laughter 618 00:23:33,500 --> 00:23:35,820 and their tongue with joyful shouting. 619 00:23:35,820 --> 00:23:37,900 Then they said among the nations, 620 00:23:37,900 --> 00:23:40,380 the Lord has done great things for them. 621 00:23:40,380 --> 00:23:44,300 See, if we as believers having seen the turn and the reveal, 622 00:23:44,300 --> 00:23:46,660 if your horse came around the bend, 623 00:23:46,660 --> 00:23:49,020 five lengths in the lead, 624 00:23:49,020 --> 00:23:50,620 which is exactly what Jesus has done 625 00:23:50,620 --> 00:23:53,940 and there is no way you can lose. 626 00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:57,500 You shout and scream and leap and clutch your ticket 627 00:23:57,500 --> 00:23:59,860 until the horse crosses the finish line 628 00:23:59,860 --> 00:24:02,900 and you are wealthy beyond imagining. 629 00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:05,700 And everybody in the crowd sees you clutching the ticket 630 00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:07,740 and jumping up and down my horse. 631 00:24:07,740 --> 00:24:09,860 20 to one is winning guaranteed. 632 00:24:09,860 --> 00:24:11,900 He couldn't lose now if he broke his leg 633 00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:13,460 and threw his rider. 634 00:24:13,460 --> 00:24:15,980 And everybody in the crowd is looking at you going, 635 00:24:15,980 --> 00:24:17,580 clearly he bet the family fortune 636 00:24:17,580 --> 00:24:19,700 on the 20 to one winning horse. 637 00:24:19,700 --> 00:24:21,780 And he says the world will say, 638 00:24:21,780 --> 00:24:22,940 the nations will say, 639 00:24:22,940 --> 00:24:26,020 the Lord has done great things for them. 640 00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:27,740 The Lord has done great things for us. 641 00:24:27,740 --> 00:24:29,220 We are glad. 642 00:24:29,220 --> 00:24:30,900 Restore our captivity, O Lord, 643 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:32,260 as the streams in the south, 644 00:24:32,260 --> 00:24:36,820 those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. 645 00:24:36,820 --> 00:24:38,860 He who goes to and from weeping, 646 00:24:38,860 --> 00:24:40,820 carrying his bag of seed, 647 00:24:40,820 --> 00:24:43,220 shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, 648 00:24:43,220 --> 00:24:45,020 bringing his sheaves with him. 649 00:24:45,020 --> 00:24:47,140 The next day after you see the reveal, 650 00:24:47,140 --> 00:24:48,500 after you realize that Christ, 651 00:24:48,500 --> 00:24:49,860 you still gotta go to work. 652 00:24:49,860 --> 00:24:51,540 You still gotta take care of your health. 653 00:24:51,540 --> 00:24:53,220 You still gotta serve until he comes again. 654 00:24:53,220 --> 00:24:55,180 We wait patiently serving and exercising 655 00:24:55,180 --> 00:24:56,980 the power that he has imbued in us 656 00:24:56,980 --> 00:24:59,660 to do whatever it is that he's leading us to do. 657 00:24:59,660 --> 00:25:00,820 I still gotta do that. 658 00:25:00,820 --> 00:25:03,180 And sometimes that's gonna equal sorrow, 659 00:25:03,180 --> 00:25:05,180 loss of a loved one, loss of a situation, 660 00:25:05,180 --> 00:25:07,460 loss of a relationship, whatever. 661 00:25:07,460 --> 00:25:09,580 But we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt 662 00:25:09,580 --> 00:25:11,900 because we have experienced his presence. 663 00:25:12,860 --> 00:25:15,220 That if we go to and fro weeping, 664 00:25:15,220 --> 00:25:17,380 carrying our bag of seed, 665 00:25:17,380 --> 00:25:19,260 we shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, 666 00:25:19,260 --> 00:25:21,340 bringing sheaves with us. 667 00:25:21,340 --> 00:25:23,420 And then in Philippians four, Paul writes this 668 00:25:23,420 --> 00:25:25,620 in Philippians four, four to nine, 669 00:25:25,620 --> 00:25:27,660 rejoice in the Lord always. 670 00:25:27,660 --> 00:25:29,460 Again, I will say rejoice. 671 00:25:29,460 --> 00:25:31,660 In other words, when you're ticked off, rejoice. 672 00:25:31,660 --> 00:25:33,380 When you're sad, rejoice. 673 00:25:33,380 --> 00:25:34,580 When you're struggling, rejoice. 674 00:25:34,580 --> 00:25:36,260 When your schedule's overfilled, rejoice. 675 00:25:36,260 --> 00:25:37,700 When your money's running out, rejoice. 676 00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:39,620 When your health, the diagnosis just came in 677 00:25:39,620 --> 00:25:41,060 and you don't like it, rejoice. 678 00:25:41,060 --> 00:25:44,060 When people won't respect you, rejoice. 679 00:25:44,060 --> 00:25:46,820 When people want to abuse you because of Jesus, rejoice. 680 00:25:46,820 --> 00:25:48,580 When people won't listen, rejoice. 681 00:25:48,580 --> 00:25:52,820 He says, rejoice in the Lord always. 682 00:25:52,820 --> 00:25:54,900 20 to one horse, guaranteed to win. 683 00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:57,780 Again, I say I will rejoice. 684 00:25:57,780 --> 00:26:00,460 He says, let your gentle spirit be known to all men. 685 00:26:00,460 --> 00:26:02,380 The Lord is near. 686 00:26:02,380 --> 00:26:03,460 God's got you. 687 00:26:03,460 --> 00:26:05,860 Just like David coming back into Jerusalem 688 00:26:05,860 --> 00:26:09,180 and some of his kind of betrayers were there 689 00:26:09,180 --> 00:26:10,860 and they were asking him to need to be put to death. 690 00:26:10,860 --> 00:26:12,980 And David says, why would I need to put them to death? 691 00:26:12,980 --> 00:26:15,420 Everyone knows I am king and I know I am king. 692 00:26:15,420 --> 00:26:16,740 And if you know where you're going, 693 00:26:16,740 --> 00:26:18,740 then you don't need punishment against anybody 694 00:26:18,740 --> 00:26:20,220 who is hurting you in this lifetime. 695 00:26:20,220 --> 00:26:21,540 You don't need to have vengeful feelings. 696 00:26:21,540 --> 00:26:23,020 You don't need to get angry. 697 00:26:23,020 --> 00:26:25,260 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. 698 00:26:25,260 --> 00:26:26,860 The Lord is near. 699 00:26:26,860 --> 00:26:29,060 And if God wants to punish them, He'll punish them. 700 00:26:29,060 --> 00:26:31,260 Verse six, be anxious for nothing, 701 00:26:31,260 --> 00:26:33,540 but in everything by prayer and supplication 702 00:26:33,540 --> 00:26:35,660 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 703 00:26:35,660 --> 00:26:37,020 We quote that verse. 704 00:26:37,020 --> 00:26:39,580 But to be anxious for nothing is to not worry. 705 00:26:39,580 --> 00:26:41,740 It's not to be regretting the past 706 00:26:41,740 --> 00:26:43,060 or worrying about the future. 707 00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:45,860 But rather today to be exercising the power 708 00:26:45,860 --> 00:26:47,100 and the strength that God has imbued us 709 00:26:47,100 --> 00:26:48,700 to do the things that we're supposed to be doing. 710 00:26:48,700 --> 00:26:50,780 And if we have concerns and we will, 711 00:26:50,780 --> 00:26:52,900 we will lift them up to God in prayer 712 00:26:52,900 --> 00:26:54,740 and treat Him to do as what? 713 00:26:54,740 --> 00:26:56,380 As His will be done here on the earth 714 00:26:56,380 --> 00:26:57,220 as it is in heaven. 715 00:26:57,220 --> 00:26:58,260 Let the kingdom come. 716 00:26:58,260 --> 00:27:00,620 And we'll let our requests be made known to God. 717 00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:02,740 And then it says, and the peace of God, 718 00:27:02,740 --> 00:27:04,620 which surpasses all comprehension, 719 00:27:04,620 --> 00:27:07,820 will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 720 00:27:07,820 --> 00:27:09,740 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, 721 00:27:09,740 --> 00:27:11,380 whatever is honorable, whatever is right, 722 00:27:11,380 --> 00:27:12,860 whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 723 00:27:12,860 --> 00:27:14,420 whatever is of good repute, 724 00:27:14,420 --> 00:27:15,580 if there is any excellence 725 00:27:15,580 --> 00:27:18,940 and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 726 00:27:18,940 --> 00:27:21,060 You could take that verse right there 727 00:27:21,060 --> 00:27:22,980 and test everything in your life by it. 728 00:27:22,980 --> 00:27:24,740 And if anything in your life doesn't line up, 729 00:27:24,740 --> 00:27:26,180 it doesn't fit one of those criteria, 730 00:27:26,180 --> 00:27:27,700 you could just guarantee yourself, 731 00:27:27,700 --> 00:27:28,820 I'm not gonna dwell on it. 732 00:27:28,820 --> 00:27:30,220 I'm not gonna focus on it. 733 00:27:30,220 --> 00:27:33,300 I'm not gonna let it go in my eyes and infest my brain. 734 00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:35,100 Verse nine says, the things you have learned 735 00:27:35,100 --> 00:27:37,260 and received and heard and seen in me, 736 00:27:37,260 --> 00:27:40,660 practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. 737 00:27:40,660 --> 00:27:42,700 And that we know if we have experienced Him. 738 00:27:42,700 --> 00:27:45,740 2 Corinthians 13, 11, finally, brethren, rejoice, 739 00:27:45,740 --> 00:27:48,860 be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, 740 00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:52,220 live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. 741 00:27:52,220 --> 00:27:53,860 Are we getting the idea? 742 00:27:54,820 --> 00:27:57,100 These are the days. 743 00:27:57,100 --> 00:27:58,740 Don't you understand that the day 744 00:27:58,740 --> 00:28:02,220 that God has given you today is a gift like no other? 745 00:28:02,220 --> 00:28:04,100 I know you've gotten gifts in the past. 746 00:28:04,100 --> 00:28:06,540 I know that you've received promotions or payouts 747 00:28:06,540 --> 00:28:08,180 or somebody said something very, 748 00:28:08,180 --> 00:28:09,300 could you remember like the first time 749 00:28:09,300 --> 00:28:11,220 your significant other said, I love you? 750 00:28:11,220 --> 00:28:13,540 Right, or the doctor said, you're fully healed. 751 00:28:13,540 --> 00:28:15,380 I'm releasing you from my care. 752 00:28:15,380 --> 00:28:18,300 All of those things are great blessings and I get that. 753 00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:21,860 But this day, this is the day that the Lord has made. 754 00:28:21,860 --> 00:28:23,780 This is the day we can make something out of. 755 00:28:23,780 --> 00:28:27,020 We can go and do and be and serve and stand 756 00:28:27,020 --> 00:28:28,940 as a child of God under heaven 757 00:28:28,940 --> 00:28:32,420 because God has shown the turn. 758 00:28:32,420 --> 00:28:33,860 It's already done. 759 00:28:33,860 --> 00:28:37,220 And if you spend your life trying to make it happen, 760 00:28:37,220 --> 00:28:39,660 then you're denying the fact that it ever did happen. 761 00:28:39,660 --> 00:28:42,460 If you spend your life trying to make your life better, 762 00:28:42,460 --> 00:28:45,100 then when the time comes, according to what the Bible says, 763 00:28:45,100 --> 00:28:46,300 you'll have nothing. 764 00:28:46,300 --> 00:28:48,340 But if you sacrifice your life, you give your life, 765 00:28:48,340 --> 00:28:52,500 you serve, if you spend it on the joy of God 766 00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:56,100 working in you to affect others to know Jesus, 767 00:28:56,100 --> 00:28:57,300 these are the days. 768 00:28:57,300 --> 00:28:59,140 Live in joy. 769 00:28:59,140 --> 00:29:01,940 I get it, you have trial and trouble in the world. 770 00:29:01,940 --> 00:29:03,300 Welcome to the club. 771 00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:05,660 Lost people have trials and trouble. 772 00:29:05,660 --> 00:29:07,700 Saved people have trials and trouble. 773 00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:09,940 But saved people have the peace of God 774 00:29:09,940 --> 00:29:11,900 because we have experienced Him personally. 775 00:29:11,900 --> 00:29:14,460 We mourn not like those who have no hope, 776 00:29:14,460 --> 00:29:16,580 but rather we walk in the peace of Jesus, 777 00:29:16,580 --> 00:29:19,420 which He Himself gives, but not as the world gives, 778 00:29:19,420 --> 00:29:21,420 but He gives us this peace. 779 00:29:21,420 --> 00:29:24,340 And we know that He has overcome the world. 780 00:29:26,580 --> 00:29:28,060 There is a second conclusion. 781 00:29:28,060 --> 00:29:29,020 That was the first one. 782 00:29:29,020 --> 00:29:31,180 Knowing that we are of God 783 00:29:31,180 --> 00:29:33,940 and that the whole world lives in the power of the evil one. 784 00:29:33,940 --> 00:29:36,940 You remember that from 1 John 5 or verses from the day. 785 00:29:36,940 --> 00:29:39,420 We know beyond a shadow of a doubt 786 00:29:39,420 --> 00:29:41,220 that the finish line is coming. 787 00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:43,380 God promised to once and for all, 788 00:29:43,380 --> 00:29:45,500 put everything under His feet. 789 00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:48,780 1 Corinthians 15, and I'm taking excerpts from that chapter. 790 00:29:49,900 --> 00:29:53,340 But each in His own order, Christ the firstfruits, 791 00:29:53,340 --> 00:29:55,940 after that, those who are Christ, that's us, 792 00:29:55,940 --> 00:29:57,580 if you're saved, at His coming. 793 00:29:57,580 --> 00:30:01,020 So when Jesus comes again, then, completely for sure. 794 00:30:01,020 --> 00:30:02,220 Then comes the end. 795 00:30:02,220 --> 00:30:04,500 When He hands over the kingdoms of God and Father, 796 00:30:04,500 --> 00:30:07,980 when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power, 797 00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:10,260 where He must reign until He has put 798 00:30:10,260 --> 00:30:11,940 all His enemies under His feet. 799 00:30:11,940 --> 00:30:13,540 And then, for He has put all things 800 00:30:13,540 --> 00:30:15,380 in subjection under His feet. 801 00:30:15,380 --> 00:30:18,260 But when He says all things are put in subjection, 802 00:30:18,260 --> 00:30:19,980 it is evident that He has, 803 00:30:19,980 --> 00:30:24,020 that's a weird word, let me check and see if that's a typo. 804 00:30:24,020 --> 00:30:26,620 He is evident that He is, yes, okay, 805 00:30:26,620 --> 00:30:28,620 it's spelled incorrectly is what it is. 806 00:30:28,620 --> 00:30:30,380 Okay, it is evident that He has accepted 807 00:30:30,380 --> 00:30:34,020 who put all things in subjection to Him. 808 00:30:34,020 --> 00:30:35,780 When all things are subjected to Him, 809 00:30:35,780 --> 00:30:39,340 then the Son Himself also would be subjected to the One 810 00:30:39,340 --> 00:30:40,860 who subjects all things to Him, 811 00:30:40,860 --> 00:30:41,940 so that God may be all in all. 812 00:30:41,940 --> 00:30:42,820 Did you catch all that? 813 00:30:42,820 --> 00:30:44,380 God's gonna put everything under Jesus, 814 00:30:44,380 --> 00:30:45,740 so Jesus can put everything under God. 815 00:30:45,740 --> 00:30:46,860 That's what it says. 816 00:30:46,860 --> 00:30:48,500 It's already said, already settled, 817 00:30:48,500 --> 00:30:49,940 already gonna be done. 818 00:30:49,940 --> 00:30:52,340 Romans 8 says it this way, excerpting that chapter. 819 00:30:52,340 --> 00:30:54,580 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 820 00:30:54,580 --> 00:30:57,060 are not worthy to be compared with the glory 821 00:30:57,060 --> 00:30:59,260 that is to be revealed to us. 822 00:30:59,260 --> 00:31:01,060 For the anxious longing of the creation 823 00:31:01,060 --> 00:31:03,420 waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 824 00:31:03,420 --> 00:31:04,820 See, this is what's going on. 825 00:31:04,820 --> 00:31:06,380 It's like you went to the racetrack, 826 00:31:06,380 --> 00:31:09,660 you bet the family farm on the 20 to one horse to win, 827 00:31:09,660 --> 00:31:12,420 and it's about to win, and Christians are going, 828 00:31:12,420 --> 00:31:14,580 it's gonna win, I've got the 20 to one horse, 829 00:31:14,580 --> 00:31:16,580 I sold the farm, it's all right here, it's gonna win, 830 00:31:16,580 --> 00:31:20,900 I guarantee, and there's 30 lengths of the horse left to run, 831 00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:22,900 and they're like, but I need to get a drink, 832 00:31:22,900 --> 00:31:23,900 but I gotta run over here. 833 00:31:23,900 --> 00:31:25,380 Let me go tell Sam, I gotta get on the phone, 834 00:31:25,380 --> 00:31:28,180 I gotta watch some reels or memes or something, 835 00:31:28,180 --> 00:31:30,780 I gotta do all these things, and you don't do any of that, 836 00:31:30,780 --> 00:31:33,820 because the horse is gonna win, and the farm was bet, 837 00:31:33,820 --> 00:31:36,240 and it's 20 to one return, and you and your family 838 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,140 and everybody in your family that listens to the reveal 839 00:31:39,140 --> 00:31:42,060 is set for life, set for eternity, 840 00:31:42,060 --> 00:31:44,060 it's all set and done, brother, 841 00:31:44,060 --> 00:31:45,920 it's all set and done, sister, 842 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:47,700 and instead we're holding the winning ticket 843 00:31:47,700 --> 00:31:49,740 as the horse is racing toward the finish line, 844 00:31:49,740 --> 00:31:51,940 running around, making sure we taste it, feel it, 845 00:31:51,940 --> 00:31:54,660 experience it, get the best out of this life 846 00:31:54,660 --> 00:31:56,580 before Jesus comes again. 847 00:31:56,580 --> 00:31:59,860 That's the machinations of men, that's the schemes of men, 848 00:31:59,860 --> 00:32:03,660 that we can have Jesus and get that with all this stuff, 849 00:32:03,660 --> 00:32:06,600 and that's why God would say through his mighty word 850 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:07,860 that if you are a friend to the world, 851 00:32:07,860 --> 00:32:09,440 you are no friend of God, 852 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:11,260 because if you're holding the winning ticket, 853 00:32:11,260 --> 00:32:13,820 that 20 to one ticket, and the horse is racing 854 00:32:13,820 --> 00:32:16,180 toward the finish line, and you're gonna win it all, 855 00:32:16,180 --> 00:32:18,820 and then you're busy, you know how long after 856 00:32:18,820 --> 00:32:21,100 the finish line you can turn that ticket in? 857 00:32:21,100 --> 00:32:22,860 It's a limited amount of time, 858 00:32:22,860 --> 00:32:25,300 so when the finish line strikes and the horse wins, 859 00:32:25,300 --> 00:32:27,860 you better be ready to cash in your ticket 860 00:32:27,860 --> 00:32:30,500 to get your winnings, but there are so many people 861 00:32:30,500 --> 00:32:32,980 distracted, so many supposed Christians 862 00:32:32,980 --> 00:32:35,300 distracted by the things of this world. 863 00:32:35,300 --> 00:32:37,380 It's not gonna be good enough, folks. 864 00:32:37,380 --> 00:32:39,580 Verse 20, Romans 8 says this, 865 00:32:39,580 --> 00:32:43,100 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, 866 00:32:43,100 --> 00:32:45,420 but because of him who subjected it in hope, 867 00:32:45,420 --> 00:32:47,700 and that the creation itself also will be set free 868 00:32:47,700 --> 00:32:49,740 from the slavery to corruption into the freedom 869 00:32:49,740 --> 00:32:51,020 of the glory of the children of God. 870 00:32:51,020 --> 00:32:52,460 Don't you understand in the context 871 00:32:52,460 --> 00:32:54,060 of what we're talking about, all of the things 872 00:32:54,060 --> 00:32:55,940 that you're enjoying on a regular day-to-day basis 873 00:32:55,940 --> 00:32:57,220 are fallen things. 874 00:32:57,220 --> 00:32:59,380 The best food you have ever had, 875 00:32:59,380 --> 00:33:01,780 you went to a restaurant, it surprised you, 876 00:33:01,780 --> 00:33:04,700 you're like, that is the best meal I've ever had, 877 00:33:04,700 --> 00:33:09,300 was a broken, fallen, barely resembling meal 878 00:33:09,300 --> 00:33:12,240 compared to the worst thing you could ever eat in heaven. 879 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,620 The best moment in a relationship you ever had, 880 00:33:14,620 --> 00:33:16,740 that moment where somebody said exactly the right thing, 881 00:33:16,740 --> 00:33:18,820 you were like, oh, I'm feeling, 882 00:33:18,820 --> 00:33:20,380 I'll never forget this moment, 883 00:33:20,380 --> 00:33:24,100 is a fractured, fallen, groaning attempt 884 00:33:24,100 --> 00:33:28,860 at barely reflecting one single second of eternity, 885 00:33:28,860 --> 00:33:30,940 and you'll have an eternity like that. 886 00:33:30,940 --> 00:33:33,340 Why are we racing after things of this earth? 887 00:33:33,340 --> 00:33:34,860 Why are we even concerned? 888 00:33:34,860 --> 00:33:36,980 They're all corrupted. 889 00:33:36,980 --> 00:33:39,420 Now, I understand we live here, you've got to eat. 890 00:33:39,420 --> 00:33:41,420 You interact with other human beings 891 00:33:41,420 --> 00:33:42,720 because that's how we save people, 892 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:44,660 that's how people get saved by Christ 893 00:33:44,660 --> 00:33:46,460 as we share the gospel and so on. 894 00:33:46,460 --> 00:33:49,200 But basically, he's saying all of this creation 895 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,540 was subjected into futility. 896 00:33:51,540 --> 00:33:54,900 Verse 22 says, for we know that the whole creation groans 897 00:33:54,900 --> 00:33:58,140 and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now, 898 00:33:58,140 --> 00:34:00,700 and not only this, but also we ourselves, 899 00:34:00,700 --> 00:34:02,020 having the first fruits of the Spirit, 900 00:34:02,020 --> 00:34:03,340 so we have the Holy Spirit now, 901 00:34:03,340 --> 00:34:05,260 even we ourselves grown within ourselves, 902 00:34:05,260 --> 00:34:07,580 and we struggle, we really want that time. 903 00:34:07,580 --> 00:34:09,620 We look forward to the future, 904 00:34:09,620 --> 00:34:12,260 waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, 905 00:34:12,260 --> 00:34:13,860 the redemption of our body, 906 00:34:13,860 --> 00:34:15,380 for in hope we have been saved, 907 00:34:15,380 --> 00:34:17,280 but hope that's seen is not hope, 908 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:19,540 for who hopes for what he already sees? 909 00:34:19,540 --> 00:34:22,560 But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, 910 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,100 we wait eagerly for it, it's coming. 911 00:34:25,100 --> 00:34:28,220 The reveal is already done, the finish line is coming. 912 00:34:28,220 --> 00:34:30,460 And we know that God causes all things 913 00:34:30,460 --> 00:34:31,820 to work together for the good, 914 00:34:31,820 --> 00:34:33,000 to those who love God, 915 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:34,680 to those who are called according to his purpose. 916 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:37,460 There's that verse that we love to quote, 917 00:34:37,460 --> 00:34:40,480 and I am not subtly reminded that in that verse 918 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:41,860 is a promise that you will not have 919 00:34:41,860 --> 00:34:43,260 if you do not love God 920 00:34:43,260 --> 00:34:45,620 or are not called according to his purpose or both. 921 00:34:45,620 --> 00:34:48,260 But if you do, then you realize all things work together 922 00:34:48,260 --> 00:34:51,180 for your good, 29, for those whom he foreknew, 923 00:34:51,180 --> 00:34:53,180 he also predestined to become conformed 924 00:34:53,180 --> 00:34:54,380 to the image of his son. 925 00:34:54,380 --> 00:34:57,820 That's the goal that we would look like and walk like Jesus, 926 00:34:57,820 --> 00:35:01,140 so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren, 927 00:35:01,140 --> 00:35:03,700 so that we will lead people to come into the family of God, 928 00:35:03,700 --> 00:35:05,840 and Jesus would be first and we will be after him, 929 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,720 and then more and more and more, and the list goes on. 930 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:11,020 What then shall we say to these things? 931 00:35:11,020 --> 00:35:14,020 If God is for us, who is against us? 932 00:35:14,020 --> 00:35:16,360 He who did not spare his own son, 933 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:17,940 but delivered him over for us all. 934 00:35:17,940 --> 00:35:21,900 How will he not also with him freely give us all things? 935 00:35:21,900 --> 00:35:26,500 Rejoice, you have seen the turn and the reveal, 936 00:35:26,500 --> 00:35:28,780 and with that evidence, how can we not wait 937 00:35:28,780 --> 00:35:31,780 and work patiently without yielding to the schemes 938 00:35:31,780 --> 00:35:36,140 of the world or activating any of our own various schemes? 939 00:35:36,140 --> 00:35:40,000 No ship coming in, no promotion, no problem resolution, 940 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,020 no word of encouragement or lucky break 941 00:35:42,020 --> 00:35:44,860 is going to change the fact that you've been given, 942 00:35:44,860 --> 00:35:47,640 or at least offered, the keys to the kingdom of God. 943 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:50,060 I'll never forget in each one of my sons, 944 00:35:51,300 --> 00:35:53,940 the look on their face, the first time I told them 945 00:35:53,940 --> 00:35:55,860 they could take the family car by themselves 946 00:35:55,860 --> 00:35:58,980 and go do whatever, that's just a car. 947 00:35:58,980 --> 00:36:00,460 Michael, do you remember the day they gave you 948 00:36:00,460 --> 00:36:02,340 the keys to your house? 949 00:36:02,340 --> 00:36:05,100 Yeah, now that's a house, that's something. 950 00:36:05,100 --> 00:36:08,460 Jesus didn't give you the keys to a car or a house, 951 00:36:08,460 --> 00:36:10,820 he gave you the keys to heaven. 952 00:36:10,820 --> 00:36:15,820 How dare we forget the day Jesus gave us the keys to heaven? 953 00:36:15,820 --> 00:36:20,740 Rejoice, for you have seen the turn and the reveal. 954 00:36:20,740 --> 00:36:23,420 No ship coming in, no promotion, no problem solving, 955 00:36:23,420 --> 00:36:25,240 no word of encouragement or lucky break 956 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:28,700 is gonna take away the fact that you've been given, 957 00:36:28,700 --> 00:36:31,220 or at least offered, the keys to the kingdom of God. 958 00:36:31,220 --> 00:36:33,020 It doesn't get better than this. 959 00:36:33,020 --> 00:36:35,220 Are you holding the keys of God 960 00:36:35,220 --> 00:36:36,700 and so waiting for something better? 961 00:36:36,700 --> 00:36:37,940 It doesn't get better than that. 962 00:36:37,940 --> 00:36:41,580 Love with all your heart, mind, and soul, your God. 963 00:36:41,580 --> 00:36:44,980 Serving with all your strength, your neighbor as yourself, 964 00:36:44,980 --> 00:36:47,660 because we know, we have experienced it personally, 965 00:36:47,660 --> 00:36:49,600 we wait patiently on the Lord. 966 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:52,720 Rejoice always and trust that as you've seen the turn 967 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:56,900 and the reveal, you shall also see the finish line. 968 00:36:56,900 --> 00:36:58,180 He'll keep his promises. 969 00:36:59,300 --> 00:37:03,040 He's going to win, and we are celebrating the win now. 970 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:05,100 We've bet everything on the winning horse, 971 00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:07,020 we've entrusted to him everything, 972 00:37:07,020 --> 00:37:09,020 and if you're not entrusting everything to him, 973 00:37:09,020 --> 00:37:11,040 then who are you entrusting it to? 974 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:12,820 Men have worked a myriad of plans 975 00:37:12,820 --> 00:37:15,620 trying to control the outcomes unsuccessfully, 976 00:37:15,620 --> 00:37:18,180 all the way from the Garden of Eden until today. 977 00:37:18,180 --> 00:37:21,620 Now we rejoice and serve and wait for the winning horse 978 00:37:21,620 --> 00:37:25,040 to cross the finish line, and even in our aches and pains, 979 00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:27,180 we know we ultimately win. 980 00:37:27,180 --> 00:37:30,540 Closing in illustration, and we're two paragraphs from done. 981 00:37:30,540 --> 00:37:33,260 There was a man who once planted two sets of seeds 982 00:37:33,260 --> 00:37:35,940 in his backyard, fertilized them heavily, 983 00:37:35,940 --> 00:37:37,220 got rid of all the weeds. 984 00:37:37,220 --> 00:37:39,940 One was a fern seed and the other was a bamboo seed. 985 00:37:39,940 --> 00:37:41,700 He watered them both faithfully, 986 00:37:41,700 --> 00:37:43,020 fertilized them both faithfully. 987 00:37:43,020 --> 00:37:45,260 The fern quickly sprouted, and within a few months, 988 00:37:45,260 --> 00:37:46,700 it grew tall and lush, 989 00:37:46,700 --> 00:37:49,340 but the bamboo seed showed no signs of growth. 990 00:37:49,340 --> 00:37:50,780 Still, the man did not give up on it. 991 00:37:50,780 --> 00:37:53,820 He continued watering and caring for it every day. 992 00:37:53,820 --> 00:37:55,780 A year passed, nothing, two years, nothing, 993 00:37:55,780 --> 00:37:57,980 three years, nothing, four years, nothing. 994 00:37:57,980 --> 00:37:59,340 Many people would have given up 995 00:37:59,340 --> 00:38:01,020 thinking the bamboo seed was a failure, 996 00:38:01,020 --> 00:38:02,740 but the man remained patient. 997 00:38:02,740 --> 00:38:04,460 Then in the fifth year, 998 00:38:04,460 --> 00:38:07,760 five years after he planted those seeds, 999 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,460 in the fifth year, something incredible happened. 1000 00:38:10,460 --> 00:38:12,820 The bamboo suddenly broke through the soil 1001 00:38:12,820 --> 00:38:17,060 and grew nearly 90 feet in six weeks. 1002 00:38:17,060 --> 00:38:19,820 What was happening during those silent years? 1003 00:38:20,860 --> 00:38:22,860 It was developing roots. 1004 00:38:22,860 --> 00:38:24,200 It was growing underground. 1005 00:38:25,740 --> 00:38:28,940 It grew roots, roots, deep, strong roots 1006 00:38:28,940 --> 00:38:31,360 that could support its massive height. 1007 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:33,440 Without that unseen foundation, 1008 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:35,860 it could never have grown so high so fast. 1009 00:38:35,860 --> 00:38:37,740 And you're going like, oh, bamboo can't do that. 1010 00:38:37,740 --> 00:38:39,300 Look it up. 1011 00:38:39,300 --> 00:38:41,260 90 feet in six weeks, not unheard of. 1012 00:38:42,900 --> 00:38:46,160 Many times in life, we feel like giving up 1013 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:48,700 because we don't see immediate results. 1014 00:38:48,700 --> 00:38:50,860 And by giving up, I mean many times in life, 1015 00:38:50,860 --> 00:38:52,980 we start to take things in our own hands 1016 00:38:52,980 --> 00:38:55,140 to manipulate the path, to say the right thing, 1017 00:38:55,140 --> 00:38:56,660 to do the right thing, to spend the money 1018 00:38:56,660 --> 00:38:59,020 or not spend the money, to go or don't go, 1019 00:38:59,020 --> 00:39:01,180 to get mad at somebody or not, 1020 00:39:01,180 --> 00:39:03,220 to manipulate somebody or not, whatever. 1021 00:39:03,220 --> 00:39:04,220 We do all of these things. 1022 00:39:04,220 --> 00:39:05,780 That's giving up because remember, 1023 00:39:05,780 --> 00:39:08,860 if you manage to succeed, you'll be living off the scraps. 1024 00:39:08,860 --> 00:39:12,220 If you manage to avoid persecution for following Christ, 1025 00:39:12,220 --> 00:39:13,900 you'll be living off the scraps. 1026 00:39:13,900 --> 00:39:15,860 I'm saying to you, let me say this very clearly. 1027 00:39:15,860 --> 00:39:18,860 If you managed to, over the next decades of your life, 1028 00:39:18,860 --> 00:39:23,440 not mention Jesus strategically in all the right places 1029 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:26,000 so that you'll never be persecuted for sharing your faith, 1030 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,720 while at the same time mentioning Jesus 1031 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:31,620 in all the right places so that you can lead people to Jesus, 1032 00:39:31,620 --> 00:39:35,820 you'll be living off the scraps of the kingdom of God. 1033 00:39:35,820 --> 00:39:37,500 Oh, but that's exactly what we want, right? 1034 00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:38,700 I don't want to be persecuted. 1035 00:39:38,700 --> 00:39:40,580 I want to share the gospel with all the people 1036 00:39:40,580 --> 00:39:42,580 who are willing to be saved and not share the gospel 1037 00:39:42,580 --> 00:39:44,340 with anybody that's going to get upset about it. 1038 00:39:44,340 --> 00:39:47,220 You realize that some of those people who heard the gospel 1039 00:39:47,220 --> 00:39:49,900 and were the worst persecutors of all time 1040 00:39:49,900 --> 00:39:52,180 became also the greatest evangelists of all time. 1041 00:39:52,180 --> 00:39:54,320 How did Saul or Paul get his start? 1042 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:58,180 On the road, on the way to persecute, 1043 00:39:58,180 --> 00:40:02,140 licensed by the temple and think about Ananias, 1044 00:40:02,140 --> 00:40:04,780 who had to go and share the gospel with him 1045 00:40:04,780 --> 00:40:07,860 after he was blinded and knew that Paul was a man 1046 00:40:07,860 --> 00:40:10,740 who had arranged the death of hundreds 1047 00:40:10,740 --> 00:40:12,260 or thousands of Christians. 1048 00:40:13,340 --> 00:40:14,820 If he had refused, if he had said, 1049 00:40:14,820 --> 00:40:16,260 well, I'm not going to go there, 1050 00:40:16,260 --> 00:40:18,860 Paul would not have planted the church. 1051 00:40:18,860 --> 00:40:20,720 And the truth is, if that had not happened, 1052 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:22,500 God would have had to work at a whole nother plan 1053 00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:24,220 for you or I to ever hear the gospel 1054 00:40:24,220 --> 00:40:27,000 because we can trace our lineage back to Paul for sure, 1055 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:28,240 because we're Gentiles. 1056 00:40:30,300 --> 00:40:32,700 The roots grew deep and strong. 1057 00:40:32,700 --> 00:40:34,420 And with that unseen foundation, 1058 00:40:34,420 --> 00:40:38,060 that plant was able to grow 90 feet in six weeks. 1059 00:40:38,060 --> 00:40:40,420 Just because we can't see the progress 1060 00:40:40,420 --> 00:40:43,220 does not mean we need to move on to another plan. 1061 00:40:43,220 --> 00:40:46,520 There is no B plan or C plan. 1062 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:47,940 There is only the A plan. 1063 00:40:47,940 --> 00:40:50,420 You follow God with all that you are. 1064 00:40:50,420 --> 00:40:52,740 You use whatever strength that God has given you, 1065 00:40:52,740 --> 00:40:54,680 whatever little bit of power you have, 1066 00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:56,980 and you persevere and stick with the Lord. 1067 00:40:56,980 --> 00:41:00,840 You stay true to him despite what may come. 1068 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:02,960 Galatians 6, 9 says it this way, 1069 00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:04,760 let us not grow weary in doing good 1070 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,040 for in due season we shall reap if we do not give up. 1071 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:09,880 If God has placed something in your heart, 1072 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:11,800 whatever it is you're supposed to be doing for him, 1073 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:13,000 you make sure it's from him, 1074 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,240 and then no matter what, you don't quit. 1075 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:18,200 He is growing your roots deep so that when the time comes, 1076 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:20,680 you will rise higher than you ever imagined. 1077 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,440 Hebrews 12, 1 to 2 says this way, 1078 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:24,440 let us run with endurance the race 1079 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:25,640 that has been set before us, 1080 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:28,360 looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 1081 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:30,320 And may God bless you with a long life 1082 00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:32,920 and because we know firsthand, 1083 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:36,240 because we know experientially the God of the universe, 1084 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:39,080 we can only logically rejoice now. 1085 00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:39,920 That's it. 1086 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,760 Stop complaining, stop whining, stop regretting, 1087 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:44,440 stop getting angry about it, 1088 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:46,880 and just face the fact that you have been given 1089 00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:49,600 the keys of heaven and every time you take it in your hands 1090 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:52,560 to do something else, you will face locked doors 1091 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:56,920 and schemes of men that are at best scraps 1092 00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:58,600 of what God really wants to give you. 1093 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:00,840 We can only logically rejoice now. 1094 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:04,640 Serve in our God-given strength now and stay the course, 1095 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:05,880 never denying his name, 1096 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:09,520 trusting that even if we face hardships and so in tears, 1097 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:11,560 we will come again at the finish line 1098 00:42:11,560 --> 00:42:13,520 reaping an eternal harvest. 1099 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:17,160 Will you praise God with me today for these reasons? 1100 00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:19,360 If you have not surrendered your life into his care, 1101 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:20,720 will you do so now? 1102 00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:22,800 If you are still attempting to bring about a turn 1103 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:24,960 in your own machinations or schemes, 1104 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,880 will you repent and submit to Jesus instead? 1105 00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:29,640 If you are living off of the scraps 1106 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:31,960 rather than the full impact of God's presence, 1107 00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:36,160 will you repent and turn your entire life over to God today? 1108 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:38,000 Is your life a room full of silver plates 1109 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:40,480 and you're looking up going, oh, beautiful. 1110 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:46,400 I rejoice for the wealth enough to make generations. 1111 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,240 In the kingdom of God, there is no limit to the treasury. 1112 00:42:49,240 --> 00:42:51,080 You say, well, but I don't have money to pay my bills. 1113 00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:52,200 That's rough. 1114 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:56,120 Yeah, but if you go sowing in sorrow, 1115 00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:58,560 you will come reaping in joy. 1116 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:00,240 Share the gospel. 1117 00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:02,120 Serve in whatever talents or abilities 1118 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:03,560 that God has given you to do so. 1119 00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:07,000 Whatever that is, wherever you are, stay the course. 1120 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:08,800 But even as I say that suffering word, 1121 00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:12,280 even as I say it's difficult, persecution, whatever, 1122 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:17,080 I am reminded that in those times as well, we must rejoice. 1123 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:20,000 You are holding the winning ticket. 1124 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,800 If you realize that God has already given the turn 1125 00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:28,520 and the reveal, there is nothing left, 1126 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:31,520 but the time in between now and the finish line. 1127 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:33,920 For that finish line, you do not need a better job, 1128 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:36,960 more money, a promotion, an education, 1129 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:39,560 a relationship, children. 1130 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:43,040 For that finish line, you don't need any of those things, 1131 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:46,480 but you do need the presence of Jesus and it's offered. 1132 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:49,480 And if you don't have it, you need to take it right now. 1133 00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:52,960 And then when you have it, 1134 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:55,400 rejoice all the way to the finish line. 1135 00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:57,800 Lots of praise to you to come forward 1136 00:43:57,800 --> 00:43:59,760 and lead us in our final hymn at this time. 1137 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:01,960 As we sing, you have the opportunity to decide today 1138 00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:03,840 if God has been speaking to you specifically 1139 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:05,520 through one of these texts, 1140 00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:06,600 or something that you're doing, 1141 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:07,920 and you're kind of publicly saying, 1142 00:44:07,920 --> 00:44:09,680 I'm not gonna do that anymore. 1143 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:10,920 There's something you need to go forward 1144 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:12,680 and do what God is calling you to, 1145 00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:13,960 and God is putting in your heart good, 1146 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:14,800 and you've been resisting, 1147 00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:16,720 and you've been busy with whatever, 1148 00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:20,120 then you can tell me, God, I'm gonna do that today. 1149 00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:22,640 What if the finish line comes tomorrow? 1150 00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:24,480 All of your machinations gonna pay off? 1151 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:26,480 Some schemes are kind of lengthy and drawn out. 1152 00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:27,320 Most of them, in fact, 1153 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:29,120 that's kind of what makes them a scheme. 1154 00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:32,080 What if he comes tomorrow? 1155 00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:33,640 You ready for that? 1156 00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:35,480 You're holding the winning ticket. 1157 00:44:35,480 --> 00:44:37,040 Will you stand with me as we sing this song 1158 00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:39,560 and respond to the Lord's lay on the heart to do so? 1159 00:44:39,560 --> 00:44:42,560 One, two, three, four, five, six. 1160 00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:52,560 We go down, we lay our ground.