WEBVTT

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I was walking down to my sister's house, Amalia's

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house, because my friends were doing date night

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and I hang out at their house for my first date

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night, so I'm not on my own for not three hours,

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I believe. And as I was walking down, there was

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about an inch of snow covering the ground. I

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couldn't see the grass. I couldn't see the sidewalk.

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So I was walking and as I got... Farther along,

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probably about halfway there, I looked over and

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there was about two squares of the sidewalk that

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was uncovered, the actual sidewalk, uncovered

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from the snow. And that's when I realized I was

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about five feet to the right of the sidewalk.

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I was not walking on the sidewalk, I was walking

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on the edge of the road. So then I moved back

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over on the sidewalk as I finished walking down

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there because that was a small area. And it kind

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of reminds me of the sidewalk as the way Christians

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are supposed to walk, and where I was walking

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will immediately get lost. So we'll move to another

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place, but God will and can uncover a way for

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you to find healing back. Wow, that's awesome.

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Well done. Well done. All right, who else? I

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wasn't originally going to do this today, but

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I think God is telling me to. So on Friday in

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the youth group, I went over, I had them do a

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worksheet. It had 14 verses or something like

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that on it. And basically I had them read the

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verse and then write down what they think it

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means. And then we went over most of them together.

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I don't think we did all of them, but we went

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over most of them together and I explained to

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them a little bit more what it meant. But it

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all boiled down to going over this piece of paper

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right here that I have. I'll read it real quick.

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It says, I do solemnly resolve to serve God with

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all my heart, mind, body, and soul, honoring

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Him in all that I do in order to glorify His

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name. I will stand up for what is godly and dismiss

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all that is ungodly. I will look to God for wisdom

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as I grow to become a godly adult. I will seek

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wise godly counsel in my decision making. I will

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honor my father and mother according to God's

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plan. I will strive to be a godly example to

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those who are around me. I will not allow myself

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to be a stumbling block to others or myself being

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led by God. I will strive to understand, confront,

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and accept the consequences of my actions. I

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will respect and love everyone in the way Jesus

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loves us. I understand through Christ, through

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Jesus Christ, I am a new creation, understanding

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that now I must live like Christ in all that

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I do. I will do this because God has called me

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to live my life for the one and only Savior,

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Jesus Christ. So, originally when I was going

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through this, I thought it would be a good thing

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for the young kids, the young people. But then

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the more I read, the more I studied it, and I

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put countless hours into it. Just those few little

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things that I just went, I trained and thinking

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and studying a lot. And it really came to me

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last night while I was trying to go to sleep

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that that is not just for teenagers. It's not

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just for young people. It's for everyone. And

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I was explaining to them on Friday that it opened

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my eyes to a lot of things that I'm doing in

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my life and changes that I have to make in my

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own life because there's a lot on there that

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I have struggled with and came up real short

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with. And so through that, I've committed myself

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to standing up for what's God. And making that

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the priority in my house, and making that the

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priority of my life. Amen. That's a good word.

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Okay, anybody else? I had one I wanted to share,

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and it ties in with our spiritual discipline

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focus. We're talking about, now through May 27th,

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we're talking about prayer and meditation. Let's

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focus on prayer for a second. A lot of times

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we publicly pray. The Bible warns us about publicly

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praying just as we sing. And be careful about

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that, right? That is not the purpose of public

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prayer. But public prayer, nonetheless, is ordained

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in the Bible. We are supposed to do it, but we

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shouldn't do it just to be seen. So Jesus is

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hanging on the cross. And he prays, and in the

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original language he said this, right? Eloi,

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Eloi, lama sabachthani. And that's sort of like,

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basically it means, my God, my God, why have

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you forsaken me? And last night we were doing

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Ariana's devotional before bed, and in the middle

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of the devotional, we were talking about that

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prayer, and she said, why did God forsake Jesus?

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Why did God turn away from Jesus while he was

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on the cross? He was doing what God wanted him

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to do, even though he was taking on the sins

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of people, which is true. He was doing what God

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wanted him to do, so why would he turn away?

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And so I said, well, there's an interesting thing

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there. Let's finish up the devotional, and then

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we'll look it up. And so then we did. And you

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may or may not know, but those words are the

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beginning of Psalm 22. And back in the day, there

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were no titles for the Psalms. There really aren't

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now, right? You just look at Psalm 22, Psalm

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53, Psalm 111. There's no titles, right? And

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they didn't have numbers then. So what they would

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use is the first phrase, the first words of the

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Psalm. So Jesus was praying the first words of

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Psalm 22. Now, if you go and look at Psalm 22,

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which was written a thousand years before Jesus'

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birth, it lays out the details of his death.

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It talks about him being nailed in his hands

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and feet. It talks about him being stretched

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out on the cross. It talks about them gambling

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for his clothes, them mocking and sneering at

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him. All that's in there in Psalm 22. All what

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was going on while he was hanging on the cross.

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And it was written a thousand years before. So

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Jesus, in praying that one phrase, that one little

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statement at the beginning of Psalm 22, was showing

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them, see, this is what's going on right now.

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And if they knew Psalm 22, and a lot of Jewish

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people who were there did know Psalm 22. then

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they knew as he prayed that that psalm was about

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the suffering Messiah. The psalm was about what

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was happening right before them. But the other

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part, the rest of that psalm, is about how God

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will save people through that activity. God will

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make them eternal. God will call them out. You

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can kind of see born again in the psalm. It's

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all there. So that one prayer was laying out

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for them Everything about the sacrifice and the

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resurrected nature of Jesus and the born -again

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nature that we can have in Jesus. The question

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was, why did God forsake Jesus? And a lot of

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people will tell you that while he was on the

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cross, because Jesus took on the sins of man,

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God looked away. But that's more of a philosophy

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or a possibility. It doesn't actually say that,

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right? What do I take away from this or about

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prayer? Remember when you're praying that the

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people that you're praying with are listening

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to what you're praying. It's really good to pray

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the word of God. It's really good to pray in

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line with what God would say. You might pray

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for people to be saved and there might be somebody

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there that's listening to you pray and they're

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not saved. Right? And they might hear you pray

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for people to be saved and in that moment they

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might get saved. You might pray how a person

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gets saved, or you might pray about sin, or about

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healing, or about being born again. You might

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pray out of love, right? And if the words that

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you're praying line up with the scripture, then

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so much more is said than what you actually say.

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But the obverse is also true. If the words that

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you are praying do not line up with scripture.

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So, for example, if your prayers are always,

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God, give me a new car. God, heal the sick. God,

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take care of our finances, right? And if you

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pray around the dinner table every night, bless

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the food, heal the sick, get your finances taken

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care of, make us strong and healthy, then what

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your kids or the other people that you're eating

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with or whoever it might be or if it's a restaurant

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and people sitting around you at the table, I

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hope you're doing that, by the way. It's a great

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witness. But anyway, if you're sitting around

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you at the restaurant and here you pray, they

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think, oh, God's a sugar daddy. They just think

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God will just give them everything. And so be

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aware. People are listening when you pray, and

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it says a lot more than you say. And in Jesus'

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case, he doesn't say that God really forsake

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him, right? It says that in that moment, God

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was doing that, that thing. And they should have

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been able to see it. And they might have. I guess

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they couldn't. I guess they didn't. But they

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could in his prayers. Yes, ma 'am. Mine does

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not really wind up in the spiritual discipline.

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But I have something that I've been struggling

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with and sending on, and I just found this passage

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a couple days ago. came to mind again this morning.

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I've been sick this week. I was in bed for two

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whole days. I'm still not feeling great. But

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one thing that I have learned over the past couple

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years, really, but strongly over the past couple

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months, really, is the power of perseverance.

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And I mean that in a way, not just, I gotta do

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it, I gotta do it, I gotta do it, but I feel

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like crap. but I'm going to do it anyway because

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that's what God wants me to do. That type of

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perseverance. And I'm reading from Romans chapter

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5 and it says, Therefore, having been justified

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by faith, we have peace with God through our

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Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have

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obtained our introduction by faith into this

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grave in which we stand and we celebrate in hope

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of the glory of God. And not only this, but we

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also celebrate in our tribulation, knowing that

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tribulation brings about perseverance. Perseverance,

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proven character, and proven character, hope.

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And hope does not disappoint because the love

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of God has been poured out within our hearts

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through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

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The part in there, the perseverance was the part

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that I was looking for, but the part in there

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that really stood out to me was proven character.

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I had to look up exactly what that was talking

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about. And the definition that I got is the tested,

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reliable, and approved quality of a person's

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inner self that emerges from enduring hardship

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and suffering through dealing with one's true

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faithfulness and strengthening hope in God's

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promises. Not only do we need the power of prayer,

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we need the power of perseverance and togetherness

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in order to be our true selves, to be the true

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character that God wants us to be. Okay, we're

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going to pray at this time. Tony, I'm going to

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ask you to pray in just a moment. We are praying

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for tithes and offerings. As we're taking out

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our tithes and offerings, remember this is an

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act of worship. It is honoring the Lord as we

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do this. And that's why we do it during our worship

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time. We visited my parents' church over last

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week on vacation. I went there to see my mom.

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And they set their offering plates up on the

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floor on the dais up here on the bottom step

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and just let people afterwards to come up and

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check after the services all over. And I don't

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believe that. And I'm not saying anything bad

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about them. That's the decision that they made.

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That's the choice that God had them make. But

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we aren't going to do that. This is an act of

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worship. Remember that when you pass the offering

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plate, even if you don't put anything in the

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offering plate, you are symbolically passing

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everything that everyone else puts in the offering

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plate. Even if they give electronically, if you

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give like on your debit card or give on the website,

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if it doesn't go on the offering plate, you're

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giving what they gave. And you should. You should

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give what they gave and also give whatever God

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would have you to give. All right? And that's

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an act of worship. We say thank you, God, for

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all the things that we've received by giving

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back of tithes and offerings. And that's why

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we do it during the worship time. So if you can

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join me, we'll do this in prayer and remember

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to bless the tithes and offerings and then we'll

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do that act of worship. Father, Lord, thank you

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for another day of giving us. Thank you for a

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new year, a new week, new opportunities. Lord,

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even though we celebrate a new year, every day

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you give to us is a new day where we can strive

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to do better, to study harder, to work harder,

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to do everything we have within us for you. and

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help us forward in that. We just ask you, Lord,

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to be of our service. Be with those, Lord, that

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couldn't make it today. They're sick under the

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weather. For whatever reason, Lord, just ask

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you to bless them. And as we pass the offering

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plate, Lord, we ask you to bless that too. Help

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us forward to give what we, out of the goodness

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of our hearts, we're giving to you. We're giving

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just a portion of what you've given to us and

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you've given us. Everything we have, we can claim

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that you gave it to us. And we're just doing

00:13:32.580 --> 00:13:35.059
this offering, being the prized giver, being

00:13:35.059 --> 00:13:38.360
the giver, the gift and the giver. And we're

00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:40.500
just asking that you continue to bless us and

00:13:40.500 --> 00:14:15.620
give to us. back about the times when I had nothing

00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:20.960
but big dreams still in my head that were hanging

00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:27.899
by a thread that fueled desire in my chest but

00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:32.460
I'm released looking in the eyes of my children

00:15:24.080 --> 00:17:17.140
Sharing all the stories of my family. I'll tell

00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:20.200
you a couple quick stories. The first one, I

00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:23.200
was about 14 years old, and I'm riding in the

00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:25.660
back of the car. And one of my friends, I don't

00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:27.000
remember for sure who it was with me, was in

00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:28.440
the passenger seat in the back of the car as

00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:31.420
well. And my dad was driving, and my mom was

00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:32.779
in the front seat, and we're going through Chicago.

00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.359
Now, if you ever drove through Chicago, if you

00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:35.279
haven't, I'm going to tell you a little bit about

00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:38.299
what it's like. Basically, Chicago is a 50 -mile

00:17:38.299 --> 00:17:40.400
-an -hour parking lot from one side to the other.

00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:43.640
That's what Chicago is like. The speed limits

00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:47.319
are 55, 60, 65, 70 these days to get across but

00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:50.920
the truth is it is busy, busy, busy. They have

00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:53.680
a skyway. A skyway is like a giant bridge that

00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:55.359
you can get on on the one side of Chicago and

00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:56.880
you can drive completely to the other side of

00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:59.339
Chicago. And during that time, you can only get

00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:01.799
off. You can't, no one can get on. So you jump

00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:03.779
on one side, drive all the way to the other side

00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:05.920
and get off. And then that's how people who work

00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:07.160
on one side of town get to the other side of

00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:08.960
town. Because in between there, the expressway

00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.740
is a 50 to 60 mile an hour parking lot until

00:18:11.740 --> 00:18:13.720
there's an accident. And then they have a little

00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:16.299
like, if you're not dying, push your car off

00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:19.380
to the side spot because there's a 50 mile an

00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:22.269
hour. parking lot going by and you will get killed

00:18:22.269 --> 00:18:25.109
if you break down on the expressway. So we're

00:18:25.109 --> 00:18:26.950
in the middle of that parking lot. We did not

00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:28.950
take the skyway. My parents didn't want to pay

00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:31.089
the money because it's a toll road. So we're

00:18:31.089 --> 00:18:33.509
driving that 55 mile an hour parking lot and

00:18:33.509 --> 00:18:36.309
we come to our exit to turn off to go where we

00:18:36.309 --> 00:18:38.940
were going. And my mom is like, okay, the exit's

00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:40.619
coming up. She's in the passenger seat. She says,

00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:42.900
the exit's coming up. My dad said, okay. And

00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:44.900
he's looking to try to get over. And we get to

00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:46.539
the point where you've got to get over now to

00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:48.319
get off or you're going to be driving a while

00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:50.500
to the next exit, right? And it's a left side

00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:52.519
exit. You've got to get over to the left to get

00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:54.940
off. A lot of them are, most of them are on the

00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:58.819
right, but this one was on the left. And my mom

00:18:58.819 --> 00:19:01.319
says, you've got to get over now. And he turns

00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:03.500
and he looks to his left and there's a semi still

00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:05.980
right there in his blind spot and he can't get

00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:08.069
over. And he says, but there's a truck over there,

00:19:08.230 --> 00:19:11.410
just like that. Well, immediately our family

00:19:11.410 --> 00:19:14.609
latched on to that saying. And for the remaining

00:19:14.609 --> 00:19:17.869
roughly, let's see, I'd say about nine years,

00:19:17.930 --> 00:19:21.250
I lived in my house with my parents and my friends

00:19:21.250 --> 00:19:24.009
were doing it and my brother latched on to it.

00:19:24.069 --> 00:19:26.150
And basically what there's a truck over there

00:19:26.150 --> 00:19:27.990
meant was whenever you really know what you're

00:19:27.990 --> 00:19:31.950
supposed to do, you're saying like, I ask you

00:19:31.950 --> 00:19:34.380
to hand me the salt and you say. I can't hand

00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:36.819
you the salt because something's in the way or

00:19:36.819 --> 00:19:38.579
whatever. So instead you would say, but there's

00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:41.640
a truck over there, right? And so like, I told

00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:42.960
you to clean up your room. And you say, well,

00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:44.819
but there's a truck over there. Meaning there

00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:46.819
was some good reason why I didn't clean up my

00:19:46.819 --> 00:19:49.380
room, right? So that was added to our family

00:19:49.380 --> 00:19:53.490
culture. In my family culture as a dad. When

00:19:53.490 --> 00:19:56.150
Alicia was little, Alicia had a tendency to say,

00:19:56.230 --> 00:19:58.250
I can't. She was my first child. She got the

00:19:58.250 --> 00:20:00.609
worst parenting of all of my kids. That's just

00:20:00.609 --> 00:20:04.029
the reality. And so she was the first one to

00:20:04.029 --> 00:20:06.529
live under the mantra, you can't say, I can't.

00:20:06.750 --> 00:20:09.990
And so now for going on 30 years in the Stevenson

00:20:09.990 --> 00:20:12.230
family, you're not allowed to say, I can't. In

00:20:12.230 --> 00:20:13.750
fact, we would go so far as to say, if you say,

00:20:13.789 --> 00:20:16.029
I can't, can't means you quit trying before you

00:20:16.029 --> 00:20:18.369
succeeded or died. That's what I can't means.

00:20:18.789 --> 00:20:20.509
And so we would say, you can't say, I can't.

00:20:20.509 --> 00:20:22.369
You can't do it. You're not allowed. Don't say,

00:20:22.430 --> 00:20:24.809
I can't. James Bond would agree, never say never,

00:20:24.990 --> 00:20:29.089
right? So you can't say can't in my family. And

00:20:29.089 --> 00:20:31.509
then we also talked about, as Alicia got to be

00:20:31.509 --> 00:20:33.809
like a preteen and we would hang out with friends

00:20:33.809 --> 00:20:36.450
and stuff, we talked about inclusion, like including

00:20:36.450 --> 00:20:40.049
someone is excluding everyone that you're not

00:20:40.049 --> 00:20:42.910
including. So when the youth group embraces each

00:20:42.910 --> 00:20:44.710
other and all the teenagers are hanging out together

00:20:44.710 --> 00:20:48.630
and a new teenager shows up and they don't automatically

00:20:48.630 --> 00:20:51.329
seek to include that person, then actually they're

00:20:51.329 --> 00:20:53.960
excluding that person. You got to search them

00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:55.740
out and try to bring them in. And if two people

00:20:55.740 --> 00:20:58.160
come in and you search out and include one, but

00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:59.799
don't search out and include the other, you're

00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:02.339
actually excluding that person. And we are not

00:21:02.339 --> 00:21:06.619
an excluding people. So these are things that

00:21:06.619 --> 00:21:10.980
develop inside family culture. And one more I'll

00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:12.619
give you. This one is kind of a newer one. It

00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:15.839
came about, I think, when Arden was young, but

00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:18.759
it's now been with us for 15 years or so. And

00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:21.019
it is, you have to do what you have to do before

00:21:21.019 --> 00:21:23.859
you do what you want to do. And that became a

00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:26.519
rule for us and part of our family culture. So

00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:28.519
family culture has a great role. Family culture

00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.920
guides. So you're like, well, this is who we

00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:34.539
are. Bristers are. Stephensons are. Whatever.

00:21:37.059 --> 00:21:40.319
Shopes are. McCrory's are. And you have these

00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:41.880
little guidelines, these little rules, right?

00:21:41.940 --> 00:21:44.359
That's who we are. And so then that can be very

00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:46.440
useful. It gives you a lot to go on when you

00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.579
don't have anything else to go on. It guides.

00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:51.740
It encourages. Look, we don't give up. We're

00:21:51.740 --> 00:21:54.059
bristers. We don't stop. We're not going to quit,

00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:59.420
right? Or we don't take a few hits here, but

00:21:59.420 --> 00:22:01.160
we can keep going because we've been through

00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:03.819
worse. Stephensons have been through worse, right?

00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.940
They save maybe. There's times where young people

00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:10.539
say, well, I might try this little vape thing,

00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:12.839
or I might get into this marijuana that everybody's

00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:15.299
doing, right? Or I might slip into watching a

00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:16.660
little something on my phone. Everybody says

00:22:16.660 --> 00:22:19.019
it's really not a bad thing. Okay, it's okay

00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:20.819
for me to watch that in the world. And the church

00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:24.500
says no, but family culture, well, but Stevenson's

00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:27.220
don't do that, right? So we already know that

00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:28.660
we don't do that. So I'm not going to do that.

00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:30.859
I'm not going to give in and go that way because

00:22:30.859 --> 00:22:34.559
of who I am as a Stevenson. So sometimes they

00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:36.740
save us from our trouble. Sometimes they heal

00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:40.160
us, right? So we eat, right, we eat our vegetables

00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:42.859
before we eat our meat and our dessert, for example.

00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:46.859
Or, you know, we're muscular, so we've got to

00:22:46.859 --> 00:22:48.940
have enough protein to drive that because our

00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:51.140
family has DNA, it's muscular DNA, so we've got

00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:52.920
to make sure we eat our protein, things like

00:22:52.920 --> 00:22:55.720
that. So it heals your body, heals your mind

00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:58.920
sometimes, things like that. So as we read what

00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:01.059
is a classic text in the Bible today, I want

00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:02.880
you to think along the lines, and I'll try to

00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:05.039
point it out to you. Really what's going on here

00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:09.420
is a conflict between two family cultures. I

00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:12.319
want you to see that. And family culture conflict

00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:13.660
is something you're going to deal with every

00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:16.099
single day of your life. Every workplace, every

00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:19.180
school you ever go to, you go hang out with your

00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:21.380
in -laws, everywhere. You're going to deal with

00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:24.140
family culture every day. So watch this as two

00:23:24.140 --> 00:23:27.569
families clash. Grab your Bibles then and go

00:23:27.569 --> 00:23:30.869
with me to Matthew chapter 2. Thank you very

00:23:30.869 --> 00:23:34.349
much for being with me. And you will recognize

00:23:34.349 --> 00:23:36.650
this text. I'll point out a couple of historical

00:23:36.650 --> 00:23:39.609
facts in here as we go. Matthew chapter 2, beginning

00:23:39.609 --> 00:23:42.869
in verse 1. As Jesus was born in Bethlehem of

00:23:42.869 --> 00:23:46.349
Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from

00:23:46.349 --> 00:23:48.750
the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, saying,

00:23:49.049 --> 00:23:52.500
Where is he who was born? who has been born king

00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:55.700
of the Jews, who we saw his star in the east

00:23:55.700 --> 00:23:58.500
and have come to worship in. When Herod the king

00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:01.440
heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem

00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:05.259
with him. So not just Herod, who was king, who

00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:07.319
kind of maybe had a replacement in the often

00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:09.339
was troubled, but also all the people of Jerusalem.

00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:12.220
Now in that little statement that they were troubled

00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:16.119
is a lot, right? It says that another king coming

00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:20.309
up who was not of Herod's line. taking the rulership

00:24:20.309 --> 00:24:22.269
away from Herod was a real problem, not just

00:24:22.269 --> 00:24:27.049
for Herod, but for the entire kingdom. Herod

00:24:27.049 --> 00:24:30.190
had already, by this time, killed three of his

00:24:30.190 --> 00:24:34.710
sons, one of his wives, his mother -in -law,

00:24:34.930 --> 00:24:41.349
and 300 priests, temple workers, Sanhedrin members,

00:24:41.509 --> 00:24:44.250
I'd say ruling Jews. He'd already killed all

00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:46.920
those people to protect his throne. There's a

00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:51.700
lot to be troubled about. So, verse 4. Gathering

00:24:51.700 --> 00:24:53.720
together all the chief priests and scribes of

00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:56.660
the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah

00:24:56.660 --> 00:24:59.240
was to be born. Realized he'd already killed

00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:02.119
300 chief priests and scribes for not doing what

00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:03.339
he wanted them to do. So when they're getting

00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:05.400
called into the throne room, they're probably

00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:06.619
a little nervous here, so they're going to do

00:25:06.619 --> 00:25:12.079
their best. And he calls them in. And he asks,

00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:14.019
where was the Messiah? According to scripture,

00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:15.839
and they had the whole Old Testament at their

00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:17.279
disposal, according to scripture, where would

00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:20.240
the Messiah be born? They said to him, in Bethlehem

00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:23.079
of Judea, for this is what has been written by

00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:25.740
the prophet. And you, Bethlehem, land of Judea,

00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:29.599
are by no means least among the leaders of Judah.

00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:32.440
For out of you shall come forth a ruler who will

00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:35.759
shepherd my people Israel. So God laid that prophecy

00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:38.519
out well before Jesus was born. They knew it

00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.000
was a messianic prophecy. This is one of the

00:25:41.000 --> 00:25:44.319
many. There are over 300 very clear messianic

00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:46.599
prophecies. And they had already by this time

00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:49.180
isolated about 200 of them. So they should have

00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:50.779
been able to know that Jesus was going to be

00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:53.480
born in Bethlehem. And here the scribes and chief

00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:55.220
priests tell him that's where it's going to happen.

00:25:56.980 --> 00:25:59.759
Verse 7. Then Herod secretly called the Magi.

00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:02.720
That's the guys who came from the east. Wise

00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:08.150
men, kind of. probably Zoroastrians, which means

00:26:08.150 --> 00:26:11.130
they worshipped or looked at the stars for direction,

00:26:11.349 --> 00:26:14.930
determined from them the exact time the star

00:26:14.930 --> 00:26:18.529
appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said,

00:26:18.569 --> 00:26:20.750
Go and search carefully for the child, and when

00:26:20.750 --> 00:26:23.329
you have found him, report to me, so that I too

00:26:23.329 --> 00:26:26.289
may come and worship him. So that verse right

00:26:26.289 --> 00:26:28.750
there could be the whole sermon. He said, Go,

00:26:28.950 --> 00:26:32.269
find the child. and report to me so that I may

00:26:32.269 --> 00:26:33.690
come and worship him. But he was lying about

00:26:33.690 --> 00:26:35.430
that. Obviously that wasn't his goal, was to

00:26:35.430 --> 00:26:36.609
worship him, or he was going to worship him and

00:26:36.609 --> 00:26:40.569
then kill him, one or the other. And then notice

00:26:40.569 --> 00:26:42.650
also that he inquired when the star appeared.

00:26:43.130 --> 00:26:45.809
So this is not taking place near the birth of

00:26:45.809 --> 00:26:48.690
Jesus. He's asking, when did you first see the

00:26:48.690 --> 00:26:50.329
star? When you were in your home country, before

00:26:50.329 --> 00:26:52.210
you packed up, before you bought everything you

00:26:52.210 --> 00:26:53.390
needed for your journey, before you loaded up

00:26:53.390 --> 00:26:55.970
the camels, before you started to walk all those

00:26:55.970 --> 00:26:59.289
weeks or months to get here. When did the star

00:26:59.289 --> 00:27:02.430
first appear, right? That's what he wants to

00:27:02.430 --> 00:27:04.250
know because he's trying to nail down when the

00:27:04.250 --> 00:27:06.750
birth of Jesus did because he knows how old Jesus

00:27:06.750 --> 00:27:08.930
is. That's one of the demographic factors of

00:27:08.930 --> 00:27:11.029
being able to deal with Jesus, right? So we got

00:27:11.029 --> 00:27:13.150
his skin color already. We already know that

00:27:13.150 --> 00:27:16.450
he's young. How young is he? Well, a little less

00:27:16.450 --> 00:27:18.150
than two years old. Okay, well, that means I

00:27:18.150 --> 00:27:20.910
can deal with him if I have to. I'd like to go

00:27:20.910 --> 00:27:23.349
and worship him, but at least tell me how old

00:27:23.349 --> 00:27:25.170
he's supposed to be so I can deal with him if

00:27:25.170 --> 00:27:27.539
I have to. All right, so it's packed full of

00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:30.539
stuff there. All right, so he asked them to tell

00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:33.759
him where he was at. Verse nine, after hearing

00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:36.619
the king, they went their way. And the star,

00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:38.680
which they had seen in the east, that very first

00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:40.380
star, the very first star that appeared on the

00:27:40.380 --> 00:27:43.519
night of Jesus' birth, went on before them until

00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:45.680
it came and stood over the place where the child

00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:48.019
was. They're triangulating. It may sound a little

00:27:48.019 --> 00:27:50.259
weird. People think we see the picture of the

00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:52.700
stables, the mandarin, and the stars right at

00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:54.660
the top, like the star came down out of the sky

00:27:54.660 --> 00:27:56.900
and hovered over that exact stable. They didn't

00:27:56.900 --> 00:28:00.059
need that. They're Zoroastrians. They can nail

00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:02.660
their position down on the planet within a few

00:28:02.660 --> 00:28:07.279
feet by triangulating the stars. So that's how

00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:11.000
sailors did it. most of the time for sailing

00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:13.000
in the tall ship. Most of the time, they nailed

00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:14.640
down their position by looking at the stars.

00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:17.279
And the Zoroastrians were so good at that that

00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:19.359
that star could be triangulated to be exactly

00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:22.220
above that stable. That's all they needed. After

00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:27.460
hearing the king, they went their way and the

00:28:27.460 --> 00:28:29.480
star, which they had seen in the east, went on

00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:31.859
before them until it came and stood over the

00:28:31.859 --> 00:28:34.200
place where the child was. When they saw the

00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:37.200
star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:39.859
After coming into the house, they saw the child

00:28:39.859 --> 00:28:44.059
with Mary. Notice, coming into the house, not

00:28:44.059 --> 00:28:47.460
the stables. They saw the child with Mary, his

00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:49.599
mother, and they fell to the ground and worshipped

00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:52.660
him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented

00:28:52.660 --> 00:28:55.819
to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

00:28:56.160 --> 00:28:58.779
Nothing in this text gives us the number of wise

00:28:58.779 --> 00:29:03.240
men. So, we three kings from Orient are traveling

00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:05.480
from afar. That's just a song. It's not biblical.

00:29:06.959 --> 00:29:09.819
The kings presented three gifts, gold, frankincense,

00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:13.519
and myrrh. There were not necessarily three kings.

00:29:13.579 --> 00:29:14.859
There could have been two kings. There could

00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:17.059
have been 12 kings. We don't actually know how

00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:18.519
many kings. We just know there was more than

00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:21.000
one because they're plural. But they presented

00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:23.180
three kinds of gifts, gold, frankincense, and

00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:24.960
myrrh. Now a little spoiler for a later story,

00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:26.680
which we probably will not cover next week, but

00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:29.440
these become the resources. They are symbolic

00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:32.099
of his life, death, burial, and resurrection.

00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:34.880
But these become the resources for Joseph to

00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:38.000
take his family to Egypt. to flee Herod. They

00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:41.039
just got wealthy. They just became wealthy. Verse

00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:43.759
12. And having been warned by God in a dream

00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:46.740
not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their

00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:48.839
own country by another way. Interesting because

00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:52.799
these are not people who are Christians. These

00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.309
are not people who have the Holy Spirit. Right?

00:29:55.410 --> 00:29:58.509
But God warns them not to go back to Herod and

00:29:58.509 --> 00:30:00.710
tell Herod anything, or not to go back through

00:30:00.710 --> 00:30:02.069
Herod. The truth is, probably, if they'd gone

00:30:02.069 --> 00:30:03.170
back through Herod, it would not just have been

00:30:03.170 --> 00:30:05.890
Jesus' demise that would be an offing, but possibly

00:30:05.890 --> 00:30:07.890
theirs as well. Remember, he kills everybody

00:30:07.890 --> 00:30:09.329
that's a threat to his throne, and they're the

00:30:09.329 --> 00:30:11.549
ones proclaiming there's a new king. So odds

00:30:11.549 --> 00:30:15.369
are, they die. Right? But he says, don't go back

00:30:15.369 --> 00:30:17.509
that way. God tells them, don't go back that

00:30:17.509 --> 00:30:19.230
way. So they don't. They left for their own country

00:30:19.230 --> 00:30:21.809
by another way. Now, when they had gone, behold,

00:30:21.970 --> 00:30:24.210
an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a

00:30:24.210 --> 00:30:27.369
dream and said, get up, take the child and his

00:30:27.369 --> 00:30:30.170
mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until

00:30:30.170 --> 00:30:33.470
I tell you. For Herod is going to search for

00:30:33.470 --> 00:30:36.809
the child to destroy him. So Joseph got up and

00:30:36.809 --> 00:30:38.630
took the child and his mother while it was still

00:30:38.630 --> 00:30:41.950
night and left for Egypt. He remained there until

00:30:41.950 --> 00:30:44.670
the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what

00:30:44.670 --> 00:30:46.470
had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet,

00:30:46.630 --> 00:30:50.289
out of Egypt I called my son. Which they, again,

00:30:50.430 --> 00:30:52.750
even though that is in the text that it's originally

00:30:52.750 --> 00:30:54.769
written in, could be referring to Israel being

00:30:54.769 --> 00:30:57.970
called out of Egypt, right? They saw it as a

00:30:57.970 --> 00:31:00.650
messianic prophecy. So somehow the Messiah had

00:31:00.650 --> 00:31:03.009
to wind up in Egypt and come out of Egypt in

00:31:03.009 --> 00:31:05.230
order for that prophecy to be fulfilled. Verse

00:31:05.230 --> 00:31:08.069
16. Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked

00:31:08.069 --> 00:31:11.369
by the Magi, he became very enraged. And he sent

00:31:11.369 --> 00:31:14.329
and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem

00:31:14.329 --> 00:31:17.650
and all its vicinity from two years old and under,

00:31:17.710 --> 00:31:19.970
according to the time which he had determined

00:31:19.970 --> 00:31:22.490
from the Magi. So he's looking at when the star

00:31:22.490 --> 00:31:25.690
first appeared, calculating the baby should be

00:31:25.690 --> 00:31:28.930
a little less than two years old, right? And

00:31:28.930 --> 00:31:30.950
a little before then, he's going to kill everything

00:31:30.950 --> 00:31:33.029
that looks like it's two years old and under.

00:31:33.490 --> 00:31:37.480
So he's trying to wipe Jesus out. So we know

00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:39.759
that the Magi came to the house to deliver their

00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:42.440
gifts, and we know that they fled to Egypt sometime

00:31:42.440 --> 00:31:45.359
before Jesus was two, but surely after he was

00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:49.640
one. Okay? 17. Then what had been spoken through

00:31:49.640 --> 00:31:51.880
Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled. So this is

00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:55.400
the third prophecy just in this text. A voice

00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:58.460
was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning,

00:31:58.539 --> 00:32:00.940
Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused

00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:04.279
to be comforted because they were no more. So

00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:06.539
their soldiers went around and killed every baby

00:32:06.539 --> 00:32:09.319
two years old and younger. But when Herod died,

00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:11.460
behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream

00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:14.759
to Joseph in Egypt and said, Get up, take the

00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:17.180
child and his mother, and go into the land of

00:32:17.180 --> 00:32:19.500
Israel. For those who sought the child's life

00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:23.720
are dead. So Joseph got up, took the child and

00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:25.500
his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:30.500
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning

00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:34.470
over Judah in place of his father Herod, He was

00:32:34.470 --> 00:32:37.230
afraid to go there. Then after being warned by

00:32:37.230 --> 00:32:40.190
God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee

00:32:40.190 --> 00:32:42.890
and came and lived in a city called Nazareth.

00:32:43.450 --> 00:32:46.269
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the

00:32:46.269 --> 00:32:49.650
prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. So yet

00:32:49.650 --> 00:32:52.869
another prophecy being fulfilled. Notice then

00:32:52.869 --> 00:32:57.589
that when Joseph is about to bring Jesus and

00:32:57.589 --> 00:33:00.690
Mary back out of Egypt, he starts thinking to

00:33:00.690 --> 00:33:04.670
himself, but Archelaus, is now ruling in Herod's

00:33:04.670 --> 00:33:07.670
stead. You see what's happening there? Is Archelius

00:33:07.670 --> 00:33:10.829
a bad man? Is he a murderer? Is he going to murder

00:33:10.829 --> 00:33:13.150
people like his dad did to protect his throne?

00:33:13.609 --> 00:33:15.230
Well, you don't really know. But what you do

00:33:15.230 --> 00:33:19.309
know is that family culture affects the way people

00:33:19.309 --> 00:33:21.710
act, right? The way you raise your children affects

00:33:21.710 --> 00:33:24.150
who they'll be when they grow up and so on. So

00:33:24.150 --> 00:33:27.430
he started thinking, well, Archelius, you know,

00:33:27.430 --> 00:33:29.990
he may not want a new king either because his

00:33:29.990 --> 00:33:35.740
dad didn't. So we have two family cultures in

00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:38.779
conflict, and we have God warning God as the

00:33:38.779 --> 00:33:40.859
head of their family, essentially, right? Warning

00:33:40.859 --> 00:33:43.599
them multiple times to avoid conflict with the

00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:48.619
family culture of Herod and his offspring. So

00:33:48.619 --> 00:33:50.339
a few things I want you to see in this text then.

00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:54.200
It starts with this. God, to this day, it's always

00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:57.259
been this way, but to this day, God continues

00:33:57.259 --> 00:34:01.400
to make arrangements. He is always working. And

00:34:01.400 --> 00:34:03.599
Acts 17 says he laid out the boundaries in which

00:34:03.599 --> 00:34:05.500
we live, the events of our lives, and so on.

00:34:05.539 --> 00:34:08.300
God is continuing to make arrangements. See how

00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:11.760
those who came from so far away were given everything

00:34:11.760 --> 00:34:14.380
that they needed to find Jesus and worship him?

00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:18.599
To fulfill the prophecies of God? Yes. And the

00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:20.840
prophecies of God include that everyone who is

00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:23.119
willing to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:25.559
will be saved. And that means there are people

00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:28.099
who have not yet heard the gospel. They live

00:34:28.099 --> 00:34:30.239
in that corridor of people in the world that

00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:32.780
don't speak English. I just read about a great

00:34:32.780 --> 00:34:34.980
revival in a country that doesn't speak English,

00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:38.340
and they just baptized like 1 ,200 people down

00:34:38.340 --> 00:34:43.219
there in one day. And so there's amazing things.

00:34:43.300 --> 00:34:46.360
God is going to make sure that anyone who genuinely

00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:48.260
would accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:51.360
will receive him. They will have an opportunity.

00:34:51.460 --> 00:34:55.079
He's making arrangements. So if you came from

00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:58.099
afar, then you know that God has made arrangements

00:34:58.099 --> 00:35:01.800
for you to get there. See how God set up everything

00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:04.860
for every person, Romans 17 says, provided creation

00:35:04.860 --> 00:35:07.760
as a testimony so that all people are without

00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:10.820
excuse, Romans 1 says. So people who are standing

00:35:10.820 --> 00:35:13.039
in a field going, oh, is there a greater meaning

00:35:13.039 --> 00:35:15.739
to life, can look at trees and clouds and sun,

00:35:15.820 --> 00:35:18.199
feel the rain on their face, watch the plants

00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:21.719
grow, see the cycle of life in animals and in

00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:26.480
organisms. microscopic organisms that are so

00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:28.199
complex and have so many parts, there's no way

00:35:28.199 --> 00:35:30.079
they evolved up from anything else. Look at the

00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:33.360
molecules that hold human cells together and

00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:35.139
see that they are shaped in the shape of a cross,

00:35:35.340 --> 00:35:39.559
etc., etc., etc. And God has provided all of

00:35:39.559 --> 00:35:42.460
that testimony so that people are without excuse.

00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:46.280
Jesus came in the flesh to overcome death and

00:35:46.280 --> 00:35:51.719
sin once and for all. and sent generations of

00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:54.039
his people, of God's people, of the kingdom of

00:35:54.039 --> 00:35:56.119
God people, of the family of God, for all those

00:35:56.119 --> 00:35:58.079
who have accepted Jesus are given the right to

00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:00.719
be called children of God. And he sent generations

00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:05.079
of people, of Christians, before us. People that

00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:09.280
snuck Bibles behind the iron curtain. People

00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:11.539
that served the sick and dying and themselves

00:36:11.539 --> 00:36:15.159
died. In the flu epidemic, so the 1920s. Oh,

00:36:15.219 --> 00:36:16.639
is that pneumonia? I get those two confused.

00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:20.679
Anyway, the point is, always, in every generation,

00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:23.400
he has preserved for himself a people of a witness,

00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:26.019
and that ultimately resulted in somebody to preach

00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:28.059
the gospel so that I could hear, you could hear.

00:36:28.619 --> 00:36:31.440
And we are part of that greater effort. God is

00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:34.119
still making arrangements. And you could change

00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:36.719
your name to arrangement number whatever, because

00:36:36.719 --> 00:36:40.659
God is arranging you in this generation to stand

00:36:40.659 --> 00:36:42.539
up for him and see to it that people have the

00:36:42.539 --> 00:36:46.239
opportunity to hear the truth. There are plenty

00:36:46.239 --> 00:36:49.219
of people from other family cultures, other than

00:36:49.219 --> 00:36:52.739
God's, that are speaking a lot of untruths, that

00:36:52.739 --> 00:36:56.340
are deceiving in a lot of ways. But our culture,

00:36:56.420 --> 00:36:59.119
our family culture is supposed to be God's family

00:36:59.119 --> 00:37:01.760
culture, not to get ahead of myself. And we are

00:37:01.760 --> 00:37:04.219
delivering the truth. We are part of the arrangements

00:37:04.219 --> 00:37:06.920
that God has made. God has always been making

00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:09.599
arrangements for anybody who would to come to

00:37:09.599 --> 00:37:13.860
him. Next. Notice that there are on the earth

00:37:13.860 --> 00:37:16.380
a part of society, I guess really has always

00:37:16.380 --> 00:37:18.480
been, because we see maybe at the very beginning

00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:21.159
of time, the Bible is not super clear about exactly

00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:23.800
how it went down, but a power struggle that took

00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:27.880
place amongst the angels. So there have always

00:37:27.880 --> 00:37:31.420
been power structures. There have always been,

00:37:31.539 --> 00:37:33.820
and will always be until Jesus comes again, controlling

00:37:33.820 --> 00:37:37.980
people, manipulating people, deceiving people,

00:37:38.260 --> 00:37:42.250
kings. Princes, presidents, governors, right?

00:37:42.369 --> 00:37:45.909
People who enforce their will upon others. Backstabbers

00:37:45.909 --> 00:37:47.929
who rise up in the ranks of companies because

00:37:47.929 --> 00:37:50.630
they cheat others, lie to others, deceive others,

00:37:50.750 --> 00:37:52.849
throw others under the bus when they do wrong.

00:37:53.170 --> 00:37:56.829
They have always spent systems of evil, ways

00:37:56.829 --> 00:38:00.150
that things can be accomplished, right? In fact,

00:38:00.230 --> 00:38:03.750
around the time of Jesus' day, amongst the wealthy

00:38:03.750 --> 00:38:06.809
Jewish, it was considered a great jewel in your

00:38:06.809 --> 00:38:10.730
crown if you could lie. to a king or a politician

00:38:10.730 --> 00:38:12.849
or whatever and get away with it. That was like

00:38:12.849 --> 00:38:14.710
the crowning achievement. The greatest thing

00:38:14.710 --> 00:38:16.989
you could possibly do would be go lie to somebody

00:38:16.989 --> 00:38:18.710
who had all kind of power and resources and get

00:38:18.710 --> 00:38:20.929
away with it. And lots of people tried and died.

00:38:21.389 --> 00:38:23.650
but there were those who succeeded. You see it

00:38:23.650 --> 00:38:25.289
in the histories of Josephus, who was a Jewish

00:38:25.289 --> 00:38:27.349
man who wrote about the time of Jesus and that

00:38:27.349 --> 00:38:29.909
Jesus walked, lived, died, and then was seen

00:38:29.909 --> 00:38:31.449
alive again, even though he was not a Christian

00:38:31.449 --> 00:38:33.670
himself, a historian. And he talks about how

00:38:33.670 --> 00:38:36.130
he and other Jewish men like him were trying

00:38:36.130 --> 00:38:38.690
to placate kings, trying to manipulate governors,

00:38:39.050 --> 00:38:41.190
right? And they would try to lie to them to get

00:38:41.190 --> 00:38:44.329
them to do whatever. That was kind of like a...

00:38:44.570 --> 00:38:47.170
A jewel in their crown. There have always been

00:38:47.170 --> 00:38:50.309
systems of evil. And today, there is enticement

00:38:50.309 --> 00:38:53.980
of sex. There is the... The wealth and riches

00:38:53.980 --> 00:38:56.280
motivation that's being pushed on society. The

00:38:56.280 --> 00:38:58.460
walk away from people who don't agree with you

00:38:58.460 --> 00:39:01.659
mentality that's being pushed on teenagers, etc.,

00:39:01.659 --> 00:39:05.059
etc. There is a feeling of rebellion that's being

00:39:05.059 --> 00:39:06.719
pushed on people. Like, you can say no. You can

00:39:06.719 --> 00:39:08.559
just say no. It used to be just say no to drugs,

00:39:08.699 --> 00:39:10.159
which, by the way, are bad for you. Now you can

00:39:10.159 --> 00:39:12.099
just say no to your parents, to your teachers,

00:39:12.260 --> 00:39:14.480
to the police. You can just say no to anybody

00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:16.719
that you want. And it's this mentality. There's

00:39:16.719 --> 00:39:19.929
always been systems of evil. There have always

00:39:19.929 --> 00:39:22.449
been things that have been worshipped as idolatry.

00:39:23.150 --> 00:39:27.130
Things that get a hold of your life and become

00:39:27.130 --> 00:39:30.150
bigger to you, more important to you than what

00:39:30.150 --> 00:39:33.340
God wants. It used to be little silver statues

00:39:33.340 --> 00:39:34.780
you carry around in your pocket. Now a lot of

00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:37.599
times it's on your phone or it's on your TV or

00:39:37.599 --> 00:39:39.179
it could be parked in your garage or in your

00:39:39.179 --> 00:39:41.840
driveway or it could be on your paycheck or it

00:39:41.840 --> 00:39:43.260
could be in the words of the persons that you

00:39:43.260 --> 00:39:45.179
work with or in your family members' mouths.

00:39:45.579 --> 00:39:48.239
There are all kinds of targets of idolatry, things

00:39:48.239 --> 00:39:50.420
that we worship and we set ourselves up to follow.

00:39:51.099 --> 00:39:53.760
But they're all failing. All of those things

00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:56.579
are failing. They just fail forward. They keep

00:39:56.579 --> 00:39:59.199
proliferating from generation to generation and

00:39:59.199 --> 00:40:02.329
we keep having... power structures, controlling

00:40:02.329 --> 00:40:04.550
people's systems of evil, targets of idolatry,

00:40:04.590 --> 00:40:07.190
because there is another family culture in which

00:40:07.190 --> 00:40:09.889
those things kind of belong, right? They fit

00:40:09.889 --> 00:40:12.889
there and people function well there under those

00:40:12.889 --> 00:40:15.710
circumstances because they too use those things

00:40:15.710 --> 00:40:18.030
to try to get what they want. That is not for

00:40:18.030 --> 00:40:21.409
us. God takes power from kings and kingdoms.

00:40:21.510 --> 00:40:23.610
Now, interestingly enough, God also gave them

00:40:23.610 --> 00:40:25.389
the power in the first place. Who made Herod

00:40:25.389 --> 00:40:32.420
king? God. God made Herod king, right? God puts

00:40:32.420 --> 00:40:35.139
all kings on the throne. Now, did he use the

00:40:35.139 --> 00:40:37.539
Roman government to do it and Herod was a great

00:40:37.539 --> 00:40:41.159
politician and so on? Sure, but God put Herod

00:40:41.159 --> 00:40:44.099
on the throne. So if God put Herod on the throne,

00:40:44.159 --> 00:40:46.619
look at all the things that Herod was doing to

00:40:46.619 --> 00:40:48.360
keep the throne for himself and his offspring.

00:40:50.199 --> 00:40:54.280
But God is the one who let him be king. You notice

00:40:54.280 --> 00:40:57.079
that God does not destroy him. God does not destroy

00:40:57.079 --> 00:40:59.019
Herod. The whole time Herod is seeking to destroy

00:40:59.019 --> 00:41:03.760
Jesus. That's not the route that the kingdom

00:41:03.760 --> 00:41:07.219
of God family takes. God takes power from kings

00:41:07.219 --> 00:41:09.400
and kingdoms, offers freedom to the oppressed,

00:41:09.519 --> 00:41:12.719
exposes lies and lying, and tramples false gods

00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:15.360
underfoot. In the Old Testament, we see they

00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:17.659
put the Ark of the Covenant in the temple of

00:41:17.659 --> 00:41:19.780
Dagon when the Philistines had it and Dagon fell

00:41:19.780 --> 00:41:22.219
down. So they went and stood Dagon back up, the

00:41:22.219 --> 00:41:23.719
statue that they were worshiping. They were literally

00:41:23.719 --> 00:41:25.699
bowing before him and they were having sex on

00:41:25.699 --> 00:41:27.860
his altar and they were sacrificing food and

00:41:27.860 --> 00:41:29.579
money and everything else on the altar of Dagon.

00:41:29.760 --> 00:41:33.900
And they put the Ark of the Covenant in there

00:41:33.900 --> 00:41:36.519
and Dagon fell down. So they were like, oh no,

00:41:36.639 --> 00:41:38.619
Dagon fell down. So they stand Dagon back up.

00:41:38.940 --> 00:41:40.460
And then the next day they come in and he fell

00:41:40.460 --> 00:41:42.300
down again and he broke and he broke and rolled

00:41:42.300 --> 00:41:44.480
across the altar or rolled across the threshold.

00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:47.480
And so they put him back up there and put him

00:41:47.480 --> 00:41:48.860
back together again and said, well, we can't

00:41:48.860 --> 00:41:50.619
keep the Ark of the Covenant in the same room

00:41:50.619 --> 00:41:52.840
with Dagon our God because Dagon our God always

00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:56.039
falls down. Listen, this is the way it is. Dagon

00:41:56.039 --> 00:41:58.940
falls down. Elijah's offering was consumed when

00:41:58.940 --> 00:42:01.579
the prophets of Baal, 400 of them, beat themselves

00:42:01.579 --> 00:42:05.260
and cut themselves and spit and spewed evil words

00:42:05.260 --> 00:42:07.599
and everything else. And Elijah's offering, they

00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:09.619
poured water over the whole thing to make it

00:42:09.619 --> 00:42:11.940
soaking wet. And then the fire rained from heaven

00:42:11.940 --> 00:42:13.760
and it was consumed while their offering was

00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:16.239
nothing. And then Elijah called on the men of

00:42:16.239 --> 00:42:18.659
God and they killed all those prophets of Baal.

00:42:19.260 --> 00:42:23.039
Joseph came to power in Egypt to save God's people

00:42:23.039 --> 00:42:26.420
after being thrown into a pit, sold into slavery,

00:42:26.780 --> 00:42:29.360
betrayed. They lied about him and said that he

00:42:29.360 --> 00:42:32.719
raped Potiphar's wife, was thrown in prison and

00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:36.219
literally forgotten. While what was going on?

00:42:36.920 --> 00:42:39.599
Egypt worshiping Pharaoh and all those false

00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:42.460
gods, all of that was going on. Another family

00:42:42.460 --> 00:42:45.019
culture was prospering. If you could rise up

00:42:45.019 --> 00:42:47.179
in the worship of the frog god in Egypt, you

00:42:47.179 --> 00:42:49.119
could be all that in a bag of chips. You could

00:42:49.119 --> 00:42:51.239
have a big house and three wagons and a whole

00:42:51.239 --> 00:42:53.840
bunch of horses and a bunch of whores work in

00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:56.619
your house all day long. If you were somebody

00:42:56.619 --> 00:42:58.659
special in the frog worshiping god community.

00:42:59.739 --> 00:43:04.750
Meanwhile, Joseph's in jail. Then... Joseph is

00:43:04.750 --> 00:43:07.489
the second man in Egypt and the country only

00:43:07.489 --> 00:43:10.969
survives because of Joseph's leadership. And

00:43:10.969 --> 00:43:13.449
then God's people come out of the promised land

00:43:13.449 --> 00:43:16.829
and they settle in Goshen and they only survive

00:43:16.829 --> 00:43:20.710
because of Joseph's leadership. But then down

00:43:20.710 --> 00:43:23.010
the road, the family culture of Pharaoh in Egypt,

00:43:23.030 --> 00:43:24.690
it continues to progress until there comes a

00:43:24.690 --> 00:43:27.289
Pharaoh who does not remember Joseph or what

00:43:27.289 --> 00:43:31.010
God did for Egypt. And all the Egyptians are

00:43:31.010 --> 00:43:35.269
enslaved. And so God crushes Egypt, one plague

00:43:35.269 --> 00:43:36.909
after another, and every one of those plagues

00:43:36.909 --> 00:43:41.969
deals with, unequivocally, one of those false

00:43:41.969 --> 00:43:45.369
gods until the last one, which killed the very

00:43:45.369 --> 00:43:49.070
first son of Pharaoh himself. Because Pharaoh

00:43:49.070 --> 00:43:51.309
is no god, and the frog god is no god, and the

00:43:51.309 --> 00:43:54.610
Nile is not a god, and the god of gnats, not

00:43:54.610 --> 00:43:59.090
a god, and so on. And the magicians have no power.

00:43:59.369 --> 00:44:03.000
And so God... has always been crushing things

00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:05.619
that rise up. So if you've got something in your

00:44:05.619 --> 00:44:08.199
life and you're giving it worship, it's important

00:44:08.199 --> 00:44:11.079
to you, and you're giving it a place and it's

00:44:11.079 --> 00:44:13.820
not God, just realize that eventually God is

00:44:13.820 --> 00:44:15.860
going to crush it because that's what God does.

00:44:16.059 --> 00:44:19.079
God has been crushing the objects of idolatry

00:44:19.079 --> 00:44:22.219
since the beginning. Since Jesus, Jesus' followers

00:44:22.219 --> 00:44:25.480
walk away from sinful lifestyles, freed from

00:44:25.480 --> 00:44:28.679
addiction, freed from excessive habits, freed

00:44:28.679 --> 00:44:32.179
from foul mouths. We are made clean. Peace is

00:44:32.179 --> 00:44:35.079
bestowed where turmoil previously reigned, and

00:44:35.079 --> 00:44:39.300
Jesus sets people free. God was always doing

00:44:39.300 --> 00:44:41.679
that. Is there a different family culture? Yes,

00:44:41.679 --> 00:44:45.579
there is. But it ends a place that you don't

00:44:45.579 --> 00:44:49.480
want to go. The family culture of the kingdom

00:44:49.480 --> 00:44:52.179
of God, where God destroys power structures,

00:44:52.420 --> 00:44:55.880
sets apart controlling people, deals with systems

00:44:55.880 --> 00:44:59.079
of evil, deals with targets of idolatry once

00:44:59.079 --> 00:45:03.599
and for all. takes power from kings, and offers

00:45:03.599 --> 00:45:05.960
freedom to the oppressed, exposes lies and lying,

00:45:06.000 --> 00:45:08.139
and tramples false gods underfoot. That's the

00:45:08.139 --> 00:45:11.340
family you want to be part of. That's the initiative.

00:45:11.400 --> 00:45:13.280
That's the outreach that you want to be part

00:45:13.280 --> 00:45:17.360
of. The next thing to see in there then is that

00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:20.539
this war that we're talking about, this struggle

00:45:20.539 --> 00:45:28.320
between family cultures, has victims. Even victorious

00:45:28.320 --> 00:45:32.400
war has high costs. One man dying on the battlefield

00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:35.579
is somebody's brother, somebody's son, somebody's

00:45:35.579 --> 00:45:39.820
father. He could have been the deacon in his

00:45:39.820 --> 00:45:43.000
church or a pastor or an evangelist, a sharer

00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:46.460
of the gospel, a lover of life, a giver of gifts.

00:45:46.760 --> 00:45:55.099
And now he lies dead, blood and mud. War has

00:45:55.099 --> 00:45:58.579
victims. even victorious war has high costs.

00:45:59.659 --> 00:46:03.880
Often the enemy, the other family culture, if

00:46:03.880 --> 00:46:08.659
you will, will not lie down. They must be overcome

00:46:08.659 --> 00:46:14.579
in a way that cannot be disputed by God's power.

00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:19.340
God even hardens the hearts of false gods and

00:46:19.340 --> 00:46:22.860
false god worshipers, worshipers of false gods.

00:46:23.360 --> 00:46:26.300
so that when they do their best to resist God

00:46:26.300 --> 00:46:30.460
and still fall, their example may be seen and

00:46:30.460 --> 00:46:35.139
people may come to him. Again and again it says

00:46:35.139 --> 00:46:40.059
that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Until finally,

00:46:40.079 --> 00:46:44.179
even the firstborn son of Pharaoh was destroyed.

00:46:44.579 --> 00:46:50.139
It sounds mean. David takes out Goliath. who

00:46:50.139 --> 00:46:52.699
had taken out so many before, Goliath mocked

00:46:52.699 --> 00:46:55.900
God, David stands up for God, David basically

00:46:55.900 --> 00:47:01.599
a boy, takes out Goliath. Seems unfair to Goliath,

00:47:01.599 --> 00:47:05.820
doesn't it? And that day, Goliath could have

00:47:05.820 --> 00:47:06.820
got out of bed that morning and said, you know

00:47:06.820 --> 00:47:08.960
what, I'm going to worship the God of the Israelites

00:47:08.960 --> 00:47:11.940
instead of continuing to worship the gods of

00:47:11.940 --> 00:47:15.280
the Philistines. But he didn't. He stayed as

00:47:15.280 --> 00:47:17.300
part of the family culture that stands up against

00:47:17.300 --> 00:47:20.019
God. He stayed the course to the end. He dismissed

00:47:20.019 --> 00:47:23.260
his shield bearer and took a stone to the forehead

00:47:23.260 --> 00:47:26.639
and then literally lost his head to his own sword.

00:47:27.320 --> 00:47:31.880
And it's been going on like that. Is it a threat?

00:47:31.960 --> 00:47:34.239
Am I threatening you with the family culture

00:47:34.239 --> 00:47:36.840
of the Lord versus the family culture that you

00:47:36.840 --> 00:47:39.219
may have otherwise adopted? It's not a threat.

00:47:39.960 --> 00:47:43.489
This is just the reality. If you jump off a cliff,

00:47:43.630 --> 00:47:45.769
you will hit the bottom, however far down it

00:47:45.769 --> 00:47:48.969
is, quite abruptly. If you leave a plane without

00:47:48.969 --> 00:47:51.630
a parachute, you will fall. If you run your car

00:47:51.630 --> 00:47:56.610
90 mile an hour into a wall, your airbag and

00:47:56.610 --> 00:48:00.170
your seatbelt will not save you. This is just

00:48:00.170 --> 00:48:03.170
the reality of life. The reality of life is that

00:48:03.170 --> 00:48:07.440
God's family culture wins in the end. They do

00:48:07.440 --> 00:48:10.559
their best to resist them and God may even bolster

00:48:10.559 --> 00:48:13.639
their hearts, encourage them to stand firm so

00:48:13.639 --> 00:48:20.559
that they will be crushed. The bigger you are,

00:48:20.699 --> 00:48:23.119
the more capable you are of standing on your

00:48:23.119 --> 00:48:25.900
own, the harder you fall when the time comes.

00:48:26.219 --> 00:48:30.000
For our family has a culture of how to deal with

00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:32.980
these things. Number one, we mourn the losses.

00:48:33.880 --> 00:48:38.750
I have eight. I have cried. I have begged God

00:48:38.750 --> 00:48:41.550
for an alternative outcome when I have seen people

00:48:41.550 --> 00:48:44.150
walk away from the Lord. And you should as well.

00:48:44.409 --> 00:48:48.269
If you don't have a child right now or a sibling

00:48:48.269 --> 00:48:51.030
or somebody in your household or somebody that

00:48:51.030 --> 00:48:52.710
you work alongside and you've worked with them

00:48:52.710 --> 00:48:54.349
for 20 years and you know they're lost and they

00:48:54.349 --> 00:48:56.349
just won't hear the gospel. And if you don't

00:48:56.349 --> 00:49:03.300
know that pain, I can't describe it to you. There

00:49:03.300 --> 00:49:06.219
is an ache that accompanies loving someone and

00:49:06.219 --> 00:49:08.860
knowing that they are living outside the family

00:49:08.860 --> 00:49:11.699
culture of the God of the universe where real

00:49:11.699 --> 00:49:16.599
love exists. So we mourn the losses. Also, we

00:49:16.599 --> 00:49:18.860
see the evil clearly. Let's be very realistic.

00:49:19.119 --> 00:49:21.579
Satan's after your kids. He's after your friends.

00:49:21.739 --> 00:49:23.880
And if he can, he's after your witness so that

00:49:23.880 --> 00:49:25.699
you can't save anybody else. So you can't make

00:49:25.699 --> 00:49:27.380
a difference in anybody else's life. He wants

00:49:27.380 --> 00:49:30.400
to blow you up. Not that he wants to kill you,

00:49:30.420 --> 00:49:31.880
because if he kills you, he'll send you straight

00:49:31.880 --> 00:49:33.679
to heaven, but he wants to take away from you

00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:38.460
those arrangements that God is trying to make

00:49:38.460 --> 00:49:44.619
through you. And lastly, we must be completely

00:49:44.619 --> 00:49:47.900
victorious. To be completely victorious, we align

00:49:47.900 --> 00:49:50.920
ourselves with the kingdom values, with the things

00:49:50.920 --> 00:49:52.960
that the Lord is doing. That brings us to our

00:49:52.960 --> 00:49:56.920
conclusion then, and it is a word of caution.

00:49:57.469 --> 00:49:59.269
By now you already probably have figured out

00:49:59.269 --> 00:50:02.969
what it is. And it is that even family can become

00:50:02.969 --> 00:50:08.230
idolatry. Even your last name can become an idol.

00:50:08.730 --> 00:50:14.570
Your hobby, your favorite food, your thoughts

00:50:14.570 --> 00:50:18.309
about going out on your birthday or giving gifts

00:50:18.309 --> 00:50:23.650
on Christmas. Even family and really any good

00:50:23.650 --> 00:50:27.639
thing in your life can become idolatry. And why

00:50:27.639 --> 00:50:31.679
not? Family culture guides, encourages, saves

00:50:31.679 --> 00:50:34.039
maybe, heals. Is that not where we started at?

00:50:34.139 --> 00:50:35.539
And I don't think anyone would have disagreed

00:50:35.539 --> 00:50:37.239
with that statement when it was made. And so

00:50:37.239 --> 00:50:39.500
why would it not possibly become adultery? But

00:50:39.500 --> 00:50:42.380
here Jesus say to the man who said, I will come

00:50:42.380 --> 00:50:44.079
and follow you, but let me first go and bury

00:50:44.079 --> 00:50:46.139
my father who just died. And he said, let the

00:50:46.139 --> 00:50:49.099
dead bury their own dead. And so basically he's

00:50:49.099 --> 00:50:52.320
saying, wherein any connection that you have

00:50:52.320 --> 00:50:55.320
with the world stands in the way of your following

00:50:55.320 --> 00:50:58.230
faithfully the Lord. Let the world take care

00:50:58.230 --> 00:51:00.449
of the world and you take care of your following

00:51:00.449 --> 00:51:05.110
the Lord. That's what he's saying. Hear Jesus

00:51:05.110 --> 00:51:08.110
say, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

00:51:08.650 --> 00:51:10.349
And he goes on to illustrate that there will

00:51:10.349 --> 00:51:14.130
be family member against family member. Mothers

00:51:14.130 --> 00:51:16.909
against daughters and vice versa. Sons against

00:51:16.909 --> 00:51:18.969
fathers and vice versa. And by no means was he

00:51:18.969 --> 00:51:21.309
saying dismiss your father as lost and have nothing

00:51:21.309 --> 00:51:24.250
to do with them. Be rid of him if he's not a

00:51:24.250 --> 00:51:27.500
follower. But what he was saying is that there

00:51:27.500 --> 00:51:29.900
will be a division between those who faithfully

00:51:29.900 --> 00:51:31.920
follow the Lord and those who do not. And the

00:51:31.920 --> 00:51:34.219
family culture does not follow your last name.

00:51:34.260 --> 00:51:37.719
It follows who is dad, who is the leader of your

00:51:37.719 --> 00:51:39.900
house, of the house in which you live. And so

00:51:39.900 --> 00:51:41.800
if you have a husband and a wife and the husband

00:51:41.800 --> 00:51:44.360
is the leader of, he's following the Lord, he

00:51:44.360 --> 00:51:46.119
wants to follow the Lord and she does not want

00:51:46.119 --> 00:51:49.119
to, then there will be a rift between them. And

00:51:49.119 --> 00:51:51.780
the family culture that they will make will have

00:51:51.780 --> 00:51:55.019
holes. It will have... earthquakes and tremors

00:51:55.019 --> 00:52:00.420
and war. Does that mean a divorce then, if that

00:52:00.420 --> 00:52:04.480
should happen? No, it does not. It does mean

00:52:04.480 --> 00:52:07.059
that both parties have to work together then

00:52:07.059 --> 00:52:11.119
to come to the place of peace in the Lord Jesus

00:52:11.119 --> 00:52:14.840
Christ. So the lost one should accept the Lord.

00:52:15.679 --> 00:52:19.000
But if they will not, there will never be real

00:52:19.000 --> 00:52:24.050
peace. Hear Jesus say, Hate your father and mother.

00:52:24.909 --> 00:52:28.150
His words. Now, he doesn't mean hate them, right?

00:52:28.630 --> 00:52:33.309
But he does mean put God first. God above all.

00:52:33.429 --> 00:52:35.090
He says that those who cannot hate their father

00:52:35.090 --> 00:52:38.429
and mother and even their own life also. Why?

00:52:38.630 --> 00:52:40.730
Because the good things in your life can become

00:52:40.730 --> 00:52:43.309
an idol, right? So if you do not hate your father

00:52:43.309 --> 00:52:45.570
and mother and even your own life also, then

00:52:45.570 --> 00:52:47.630
you cannot come to me, cannot be my disciple.

00:52:49.869 --> 00:52:52.150
And again, he's not talking about hating. He's

00:52:52.150 --> 00:52:55.250
talking about putting the family culture of the

00:52:55.250 --> 00:52:59.550
kingdom of God first. Jesus first. And believe

00:52:59.550 --> 00:53:02.789
me, if you have a person that you love and they

00:53:02.789 --> 00:53:06.329
don't know the Lord, they will forever be dragging

00:53:06.329 --> 00:53:11.789
you away from Jesus. And God is hardening their

00:53:11.789 --> 00:53:13.989
hearts so that someday they may come. It could

00:53:13.989 --> 00:53:16.989
be that when they come, It'll be you that will

00:53:16.989 --> 00:53:18.809
be blessed the most. You're yearning for that

00:53:18.809 --> 00:53:20.429
person to come to the Lord and God is hard in

00:53:20.429 --> 00:53:21.949
their heart. They're not coming yet. God is hard

00:53:21.949 --> 00:53:23.090
in their heart. They're not coming yet. They're

00:53:23.090 --> 00:53:24.949
not coming yet. 20 years goes by, 30 years go

00:53:24.949 --> 00:53:27.550
by and you pray and you pray and you pray. And

00:53:27.550 --> 00:53:29.989
finally they come. What an encouragement. What

00:53:29.989 --> 00:53:32.550
an amazing thing that this person who said they

00:53:32.550 --> 00:53:34.630
would never know Christ, said they would never

00:53:34.630 --> 00:53:35.650
have anything to do with the church, everything

00:53:35.650 --> 00:53:37.710
to do with God, finally becomes a Christian.

00:53:38.190 --> 00:53:40.670
Because God is making arrangements and you are

00:53:40.670 --> 00:53:43.969
part of those arrangements. Even family can become

00:53:43.969 --> 00:53:47.539
adultery. And why not? Family culture guides,

00:53:47.800 --> 00:53:53.519
encourages, saves, maybe even heals all good

00:53:53.519 --> 00:53:57.139
things. But the family culture that we are meant

00:53:57.139 --> 00:54:01.420
for is the family culture of God as our Father,

00:54:01.559 --> 00:54:04.400
of the church. And the church should get this

00:54:04.400 --> 00:54:10.900
right. I must know and be known by the God of

00:54:10.900 --> 00:54:16.860
the universe through His Son, Jesus Christ. I

00:54:16.860 --> 00:54:21.679
must know and be known. And to know and be known

00:54:21.679 --> 00:54:23.860
is to recognize that I have sinned and to repent

00:54:23.860 --> 00:54:26.960
and turn to the Lord. And to submit to God so

00:54:26.960 --> 00:54:28.639
he can do whatever he wants to do and to leave

00:54:28.639 --> 00:54:32.260
behind my old ways and to believe. Some people

00:54:32.260 --> 00:54:34.300
will not do this. Some will live their lives

00:54:34.300 --> 00:54:36.820
in darkness and ignorance, not even of their

00:54:36.820 --> 00:54:41.900
own making. They didn't do it. But it is comfortable

00:54:41.900 --> 00:54:44.659
and familiar to them because it has become their

00:54:44.659 --> 00:54:48.139
family culture. They will live as foot soldiers

00:54:48.139 --> 00:54:50.699
in an army that they did not sign up for and

00:54:50.699 --> 00:54:53.360
do not understand. And having given everything

00:54:53.360 --> 00:54:57.500
to testify to himself, God is still not willing

00:54:57.500 --> 00:55:00.980
that any should perish. God says, there is now

00:55:00.980 --> 00:55:05.780
therefore no excuse. And on this hand he says,

00:55:05.900 --> 00:55:08.219
but I am not willing that any should perish.

00:55:08.400 --> 00:55:12.480
So I will remain patient for as long as is just,

00:55:12.619 --> 00:55:16.260
as long as is possible. I will remain patient,

00:55:16.360 --> 00:55:19.659
hoping, desiring, working, sending testimonies,

00:55:19.659 --> 00:55:22.400
sending my children, sending the word of God

00:55:22.400 --> 00:55:26.519
over another sermon, another Holy Spirit deliverance,

00:55:26.599 --> 00:55:29.440
another example of what happens in the kingdom

00:55:29.440 --> 00:55:31.760
of God before people so that they can see it.

00:55:31.840 --> 00:55:34.440
I will keep doing that in the hopes that all

00:55:34.440 --> 00:55:40.820
who would will come. And this is our family culture,

00:55:40.980 --> 00:55:43.440
at least in part, that we are not willing that

00:55:43.440 --> 00:55:45.869
any should perish either. Can you not believe

00:55:45.869 --> 00:55:48.829
that God has done everything necessary and will

00:55:48.829 --> 00:55:51.889
do abundantly and beyond whatever we may expect

00:55:51.889 --> 00:55:55.929
to see souls access the kingdom of God? God has

00:55:55.929 --> 00:55:59.369
not stopped being amazing. He has not become

00:55:59.369 --> 00:56:03.510
limited in power. He has invited us to behave

00:56:03.510 --> 00:56:06.630
as His children, as part of His family, and our

00:56:06.630 --> 00:56:16.880
family exalts God. We praise him, not because

00:56:16.880 --> 00:56:20.260
we want to be blessed. Although that's a nice

00:56:20.260 --> 00:56:23.360
side effect. But because he deserves our praise.

00:56:24.119 --> 00:56:27.079
We should let our regenerated hearts lead whenever

00:56:27.079 --> 00:56:29.880
we can. So when you get saved, you get a regenerated

00:56:29.880 --> 00:56:31.659
heart. Your mind is being renewed constantly,

00:56:31.840 --> 00:56:33.940
right? But your heart is regenerated immediately.

00:56:34.019 --> 00:56:36.059
So whenever you can, let that heart that's been

00:56:36.059 --> 00:56:39.599
regenerated inside you lead. And it will renew

00:56:39.599 --> 00:56:42.719
your mind. So we can know our Father's good and

00:56:42.719 --> 00:56:48.699
perfect will. Paul writes in Romans 12. And wherever

00:56:48.699 --> 00:56:52.300
that is possible for us, we carry it out. I suppose

00:56:52.300 --> 00:56:57.599
family culture can be that where the family has

00:56:57.599 --> 00:57:00.619
become Christian. And it should be that in the

00:57:00.619 --> 00:57:03.360
church where the family is only partly Christian

00:57:03.360 --> 00:57:05.940
or not Christian at all. The family culture becomes

00:57:05.940 --> 00:57:08.599
smoke and mirrors trying to encapsulate lessons

00:57:08.599 --> 00:57:13.369
learned, goals achieved, goals desired. What

00:57:13.369 --> 00:57:14.969
do we want to do? What do we want to be? Who

00:57:14.969 --> 00:57:17.530
are we? What did we say? Let's mark it down for

00:57:17.530 --> 00:57:20.110
all time. But everything a man designs outside

00:57:20.110 --> 00:57:22.650
Jesus, even a family or a people, is going to

00:57:22.650 --> 00:57:25.409
be tied to this worldly thinking and the impact

00:57:25.409 --> 00:57:28.190
of worldly reasoning, which means while it may

00:57:28.190 --> 00:57:30.369
be beneficial in one moment, it may be the worst

00:57:30.369 --> 00:57:35.590
kind of abandoning hope for another moment. In

00:57:35.590 --> 00:57:38.889
Dante's Inferno, Dante and his guide Virgil arrive

00:57:38.889 --> 00:57:42.610
on the doorstep of hell. And written there over

00:57:42.610 --> 00:57:46.409
the doorstep of hell is this phrase. It says,

00:57:46.610 --> 00:57:50.030
it's actually in Italian, which I can't do Italian,

00:57:50.190 --> 00:57:52.050
but I can tell you that in English it translates

00:57:52.050 --> 00:57:58.289
to, abandon all hope ye who enter here. So beyond

00:57:58.289 --> 00:58:00.889
the line into hell, there is no hope. No hope

00:58:00.889 --> 00:58:03.710
of salvation, no better living, no breath, no

00:58:03.710 --> 00:58:09.369
next meal, no paycheck, no comfort, no hug, no

00:58:09.369 --> 00:58:13.659
encouragement. No, nothing. I submit to you that

00:58:13.659 --> 00:58:17.760
here is another place beyond, another line beyond

00:58:17.760 --> 00:58:21.139
which there is no hope. A place in which we embrace

00:58:21.139 --> 00:58:25.900
a family culture that is not in line with God.

00:58:26.800 --> 00:58:30.300
Kid yourself not, eventually God wins. The scoreboard

00:58:30.300 --> 00:58:34.860
is already frozen showing God's victory. The

00:58:34.860 --> 00:58:39.219
game changes completely. When it is played out

00:58:39.219 --> 00:58:41.380
to a certain result. If you went to a basketball

00:58:41.380 --> 00:58:44.719
game and the scoreboard said 42 -34 up there

00:58:44.719 --> 00:58:47.059
on the board and they just started playing the

00:58:47.059 --> 00:58:49.679
game and it never changed and the whole game

00:58:49.679 --> 00:58:51.500
it built up until in the last second somebody

00:58:51.500 --> 00:58:53.659
made the last shot and the scoreboard ended 42

00:58:53.659 --> 00:58:56.659
-34. If that's how basketball games were played,

00:58:56.780 --> 00:59:00.420
pretty soon they'd have a lot less fans. That's

00:59:00.420 --> 00:59:02.219
the part of why God doesn't have as many fans

00:59:02.219 --> 00:59:05.579
as we think he should. Because God has already

00:59:05.579 --> 00:59:09.130
determined the outcome. There's no changing the

00:59:09.130 --> 00:59:11.630
game now. The only way you'd be able to do that

00:59:11.630 --> 00:59:14.070
would be able to institute another God for yourself.

00:59:14.369 --> 00:59:17.309
Your family, your family mantras, rules, your

00:59:17.309 --> 00:59:21.210
phone, whatever. Put another God in place. Abandon

00:59:21.210 --> 00:59:24.849
all hope ye who enter here. With another God,

00:59:25.050 --> 00:59:28.190
there is no hope. It's the Bible versus every

00:59:28.190 --> 00:59:31.690
mantra. 1 John 4, 1 says, test the spirits because

00:59:31.690 --> 00:59:34.110
not every spirit is the spirit of God. Okay,

00:59:34.170 --> 00:59:36.329
so I'm going to do something to myself now in

00:59:36.329 --> 00:59:38.539
front of you. I'm going to look at the mantras

00:59:38.539 --> 00:59:43.900
that I first gave you an example of. I'll use,

00:59:44.139 --> 00:59:48.960
we don't say can't. All right? So we have said

00:59:48.960 --> 00:59:51.539
for almost 30 years in my family that we don't

00:59:51.539 --> 00:59:53.659
use the word can't. Now, the truth is we still

00:59:53.659 --> 00:59:55.579
a little bit use the word can't, right, when

00:59:55.579 --> 00:59:57.199
it's outside our power ability. But even then,

00:59:57.239 --> 00:59:59.300
we hear it in our heads. You can't say can't,

00:59:59.300 --> 01:00:04.130
right? So as long as you can't say can't. then

01:00:04.130 --> 01:00:06.849
you're really ruling out the fact that God may

01:00:06.849 --> 01:00:10.730
not want you to, aren't you? Because you can't

01:00:10.730 --> 01:00:12.469
do anything that God doesn't want you to do.

01:00:13.389 --> 01:00:15.570
You see how every mantra, no matter how good

01:00:15.570 --> 01:00:17.489
it is, at a certain moment in time has to be

01:00:17.489 --> 01:00:19.869
abandoned? So how do you solve that? You say,

01:00:19.929 --> 01:00:22.389
okay, no matter what mantras we grab, no matter

01:00:22.389 --> 01:00:24.170
what sayings we do, no matter what we add to

01:00:24.170 --> 01:00:27.050
our family culture, it's all going to be submitted

01:00:27.050 --> 01:00:31.250
to this number one thing. Jesus is Lord, God

01:00:31.250 --> 01:00:33.929
and creator of the universe, and we will follow

01:00:33.929 --> 01:00:36.510
him. And so if this saying interferes with that,

01:00:36.610 --> 01:00:40.280
it's gone. The sayings can remain. But just be

01:00:40.280 --> 01:00:44.300
100 % sure that before you say, we can't say

01:00:44.300 --> 01:00:48.159
can't, you say Jesus is Lord. What if God gives

01:00:48.159 --> 01:00:54.599
you a task to do that you can't do? Then what?

01:00:55.199 --> 01:00:58.119
Has it ever happened? Well, there's a list of

01:00:58.119 --> 01:00:59.880
martyrs who come into the kingdom of God first.

01:00:59.960 --> 01:01:03.699
It happened. They couldn't outlive their, other

01:01:03.699 --> 01:01:05.260
than to go to heaven, they couldn't outlive their

01:01:05.260 --> 01:01:09.050
burning at the stake, their crucifixion. They're

01:01:09.050 --> 01:01:11.449
being whipped to death. They were supposed to

01:01:11.449 --> 01:01:13.530
spread the gospel over the whole world. The disciples,

01:01:13.650 --> 01:01:15.230
every single one of them was supposed to spread

01:01:15.230 --> 01:01:19.670
the gospels over the whole world, right? Jerusalem,

01:01:19.909 --> 01:01:22.590
Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of

01:01:22.590 --> 01:01:24.769
the earth. Did any of them succeed in that mission?

01:01:25.889 --> 01:01:28.369
No, because it still hasn't happened to this

01:01:28.369 --> 01:01:31.110
day. But that mission was to be handed down to

01:01:31.110 --> 01:01:32.730
us and has been over and over and over again

01:01:32.730 --> 01:01:34.989
until it got to us. And we are part of that.

01:01:35.320 --> 01:01:38.019
Will we make sure the gospel reaches every end

01:01:38.019 --> 01:01:42.480
of the earth? Probably not. But is it still our

01:01:42.480 --> 01:01:46.760
task? Yeah, and we can't do it. So then what?

01:01:48.179 --> 01:01:51.940
Then we submit it to the Lord. You have to live

01:01:51.940 --> 01:01:55.559
and not fear because grace covers sin. But this

01:01:55.559 --> 01:01:58.960
is no excuse for not training yourself to test

01:01:58.960 --> 01:02:01.619
the spirits. For not putting Jesus first in all

01:02:01.619 --> 01:02:03.480
things. For not walking the highway of holiness

01:02:03.480 --> 01:02:10.179
to the best of your present ability. Herod, as

01:02:10.179 --> 01:02:12.380
I said earlier, did all those things to protect

01:02:12.380 --> 01:02:15.059
his throne which God had given him. Eliminating

01:02:15.059 --> 01:02:19.920
family and rivals. His wife, Mariamne. His mother,

01:02:20.059 --> 01:02:22.059
Alexandra. It wasn't his mother -in -law. I apologize.

01:02:22.159 --> 01:02:23.820
It was his mother. He killed his own mother.

01:02:25.539 --> 01:02:28.260
He had three of his sons killed. Antipater, Alexander,

01:02:28.559 --> 01:02:31.530
Aristobulus. He ordered the execution of 300

01:02:31.530 --> 01:02:33.969
court officers and Sanhedrin members early in

01:02:33.969 --> 01:02:36.670
his reign. How far will you personally go to

01:02:36.670 --> 01:02:39.510
protect what you think God has done in your family?

01:02:40.789 --> 01:02:45.409
Is it sinful far? Is it excuse far? Is it violence

01:02:45.409 --> 01:02:49.610
far? Is it family culture in contrast to scripture

01:02:49.610 --> 01:02:52.670
far? Then you're not realizing that you have

01:02:52.670 --> 01:02:54.869
what you have because God did it in the first

01:02:54.869 --> 01:02:57.610
place. Even a family culture that says, we thank

01:02:57.610 --> 01:03:01.300
God for all we have. would not save you. Because

01:03:01.300 --> 01:03:06.000
you would not know. You would be thinking, I'm

01:03:06.000 --> 01:03:08.300
thanking God for all I have, but in your heart

01:03:08.300 --> 01:03:11.920
you would know it's really not. I'm really not

01:03:11.920 --> 01:03:16.219
thanking God for all I have. So, are you spending

01:03:16.219 --> 01:03:18.519
your effort in enforcing your family culture

01:03:18.519 --> 01:03:23.300
rather than in walking with Him? If so, then

01:03:23.300 --> 01:03:27.469
your family culture has become an idol. List

01:03:27.469 --> 01:03:29.269
out in your head right now one thing that your

01:03:29.269 --> 01:03:32.409
family always does. That one thing had better

01:03:32.409 --> 01:03:34.429
be in line with Scripture, better be followers

01:03:34.429 --> 01:03:38.190
of Jesus good, or otherwise it better be submitted

01:03:38.190 --> 01:03:41.489
to the Lord. List one thing in your head that,

01:03:41.530 --> 01:03:43.929
you know, I always think, I always do, I would

01:03:43.929 --> 01:03:46.869
always, always take the opportunity to do that,

01:03:46.889 --> 01:03:49.429
given the opportunity. It better be in line with

01:03:49.429 --> 01:03:53.409
following Jesus. Otherwise, as you pursue that

01:03:53.409 --> 01:03:55.809
thing, God will harden your heart over and over

01:03:55.809 --> 01:04:03.699
again. until you finally submit it to Him. I'm

01:04:03.699 --> 01:04:05.019
going to pray briefly, and then we're going to

01:04:05.019 --> 01:04:08.280
have the praise team come forward and lead us

01:04:08.280 --> 01:04:11.559
in our final hymn. Father in Heaven, as we begin

01:04:11.559 --> 01:04:15.880
this new year, for some of us it might be right

01:04:15.880 --> 01:04:17.420
now in this moment that we're thinking about

01:04:17.420 --> 01:04:22.500
accepting, believing, receiving leadership from

01:04:22.500 --> 01:04:24.119
the God of the universe, that You would be in

01:04:24.119 --> 01:04:26.780
charge of us. instead of us being in charge of

01:04:26.780 --> 01:04:30.340
us. By the renewing of our mind and the testing

01:04:30.340 --> 01:04:32.880
of all spirits, we would examine all that we

01:04:32.880 --> 01:04:35.420
have become, all that we have added. The Scripture

01:04:35.420 --> 01:04:38.099
makes it clear that we should now and then set

01:04:38.099 --> 01:04:40.219
up a pillar to mark a moment in time, that we

01:04:40.219 --> 01:04:45.500
should say, ah, that's not to be forgotten. The

01:04:45.500 --> 01:04:47.260
Scripture makes it clear that we should stand

01:04:47.260 --> 01:04:49.940
up for our loved ones, that as men we should

01:04:49.940 --> 01:04:52.599
do everything in our power to be spiritual leaders

01:04:52.599 --> 01:04:57.230
in our homes. As women, We should work alongside

01:04:57.230 --> 01:04:59.090
our husbands, do everything in our power to make

01:04:59.090 --> 01:05:03.630
them able and then to be able ourselves to lead,

01:05:03.769 --> 01:05:08.369
to serve, to govern, to provide just the same.

01:05:10.389 --> 01:05:12.170
As every young person in the room, we're supposed

01:05:12.170 --> 01:05:14.989
to honor and obey our parents in all things and

01:05:14.989 --> 01:05:18.150
step up to follow the Lord into dark places to

01:05:18.150 --> 01:05:21.909
bring light. We should abandon everything that

01:05:21.909 --> 01:05:25.460
looks like rebellion. And follow the God of the

01:05:25.460 --> 01:05:29.420
universe. With all that we are. That we might

01:05:29.420 --> 01:05:32.219
be made victorious. I don't know why it is that

01:05:32.219 --> 01:05:35.179
we think we can build a half God, half man kingdom.

01:05:36.639 --> 01:05:40.260
And live that into heaven. That is not what scripture

01:05:40.260 --> 01:05:45.900
says. We live in an all God kingdom. It's called

01:05:45.900 --> 01:05:50.599
the kingdom of God. And there will be probably

01:05:50.599 --> 01:05:55.099
as many family cultures and varieties. inside

01:05:55.099 --> 01:05:58.780
there and outside there as there are people.

01:06:00.019 --> 01:06:02.519
It's not even true that in the same family, for

01:06:02.519 --> 01:06:05.659
example, that both parents think the family culture

01:06:05.659 --> 01:06:08.840
is the same thing. Nobody sees any two things

01:06:08.840 --> 01:06:13.340
exactly the same. But today, Lord, I'm asking

01:06:13.340 --> 01:06:15.960
you to help us submit our family culture as a

01:06:15.960 --> 01:06:19.159
church and as every family here represented for

01:06:19.159 --> 01:06:21.400
singles and for young people and for parents

01:06:21.400 --> 01:06:25.539
and grandparents. and aunts and uncles and brothers

01:06:25.539 --> 01:06:28.960
and sisters, that for every single one of us,

01:06:29.019 --> 01:06:32.539
we would test the spirits and decide, when we

01:06:32.539 --> 01:06:34.179
add something to ourselves or add something to

01:06:34.179 --> 01:06:37.280
our family, that that thing, whatever is added,

01:06:37.380 --> 01:06:41.460
must first be submitted to you. For myself, I

01:06:41.460 --> 01:06:44.340
pray it. For every person present, I pray it,

01:06:44.360 --> 01:06:46.199
even fully knowing that there might be amongst

01:06:46.199 --> 01:06:51.460
us those who will fall. Those who will walk away

01:06:51.460 --> 01:06:54.320
and not be changed by what you've said. Those

01:06:54.320 --> 01:06:56.840
who will not experience the power that you offer

01:06:56.840 --> 01:07:00.639
to build a family culture truly inside the kingdom

01:07:00.639 --> 01:07:05.679
of God. And I mourn them. I hope better for them.

01:07:06.320 --> 01:07:09.679
I pray for them. And I pray I would not be one.

01:07:10.739 --> 01:07:12.940
And I pray instead that you would be God and

01:07:12.940 --> 01:07:15.840
I would be a child of God. And I pray this in

01:07:15.840 --> 01:07:18.639
Jesus' name. Amen. I ask the praise team to come

01:07:18.639 --> 01:07:21.119
forward and lead us in our closing hymn. If this

01:07:21.119 --> 01:07:23.400
word from God's word has affected you in some

01:07:23.400 --> 01:07:24.719
way and you feel like you need to make a public

01:07:24.719 --> 01:07:26.500
decision, this is your opportunity to do so.

01:07:26.880 --> 01:07:28.500
You can walk to the front of the room or raise

01:07:28.500 --> 01:07:29.599
your hand wherever you're at and just say, hey,

01:07:29.599 --> 01:07:31.460
that's me. I'm turning my life over to the Lord

01:07:31.460 --> 01:07:34.199
in some certain way today, confessing a sin,

01:07:34.820 --> 01:07:38.119
giving up something, whatever it might be. And

01:07:38.119 --> 01:07:40.980
then we'll pray for you and look forward to seeing

01:07:40.980 --> 01:07:42.780
the great things that God is going to do. Okay?

01:07:43.199 --> 01:07:45.659
As we sing, would you stand with me? And then

01:07:45.659 --> 01:07:48.920
you sing, but if you're deciding, or walking,

01:07:49.039 --> 01:07:51.360
or raising your hand, you don't have to be singing

01:07:51.360 --> 01:07:51.980
right this second.