WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 Okay, good morning. Good morning. Good morning. 00:00:06.019 --> 00:00:08.880 Wow, you guys are late today. You're starting 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.720 late and you're still late. Alright, so we're 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:14.560 going to start with an exciting song. I'm not 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:16.960 very excited today. I really don't feel good 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.539 today. So, we're going to do this together. So 00:00:19.539 --> 00:00:21.980 I need children up front. We're going to do some 00:00:21.980 --> 00:00:24.399 motion and everyone else to stand up please. 00:02:17.870 --> 00:02:19.409 Just take a brief moment to pray together. I 00:02:19.409 --> 00:02:23.389 will remind you that BBS is ongoing. So starting 00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:26.469 at 6 o 'clock on Tuesday, we'll be here for dinner. 00:02:26.789 --> 00:02:29.069 And we had quite a good showing of kids last 00:02:29.069 --> 00:02:30.610 week. And so hopefully all the kids that were 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:32.310 here last week will come back. And if you were 00:02:32.310 --> 00:02:34.030 here last week or if they were here last week, 00:02:34.030 --> 00:02:35.389 hopefully they'll bring another group of kids 00:02:35.389 --> 00:02:37.830 and they'll just grow. And we'll share the gospel. 00:02:38.009 --> 00:02:41.250 We'll have a little fun. And it'll be a good 00:02:41.250 --> 00:02:43.949 time. And more important than it being a good 00:02:43.949 --> 00:02:45.930 time, we'll be learning about God and bring God's 00:02:45.930 --> 00:02:52.409 word. and growing, and just... Okay, so I'm going 00:02:52.409 --> 00:02:55.289 to list these. So we've been slacking off the 00:02:55.289 --> 00:02:57.789 last couple of weeks, which means I've been slacking 00:02:57.789 --> 00:02:59.969 off the last couple of weeks. So these are two 00:02:59.969 --> 00:03:01.789 lists. We have two lists today so we can play 00:03:01.789 --> 00:03:03.889 catch -up of names in the neighborhood, around 00:03:03.889 --> 00:03:07.250 the church. So we're praying for these folks 00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:10.030 today as the Lord has led us, and I'm going to 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:13.610 share both the lists and then both the verses 00:03:13.610 --> 00:03:16.560 that go with that. Both the verses that go with 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:20.159 that. And then we'll pray. And we do have some 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.199 folks traveling and some folks who are in a difficult 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:25.199 situation. And Brother Tim, very untimely, just 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:29.460 got called away. So, yeah, it's a good time to 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:30.879 lift each other up in prayer, I think, then, 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:33.680 right? Isn't it? Okay. So here we go. So this 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:37.419 is from last week, then. Finley and Aaron's Divert, 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:42.379 a 2058 lot port. Just right over here. Yeah, 00:03:42.379 --> 00:03:44.199 right over here. Correct me if I get this wrong. 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:48.300 Bonnie Wittner of 252 Lock Court. Deborah Gladio 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:52.139 of 246 Lock Court. Barbara Dunbar of 216 Hefner 00:03:52.139 --> 00:03:58.180 Street. Right over there. And Robert Reams of 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:02.300 220 Hefner Street. And it says, no matter how 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:04.759 difficult my neighbor's trials may be, bless 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:07.259 them with your grace to give joyfully to your 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:10.000 people. First and foremost, may they give themselves 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:13.879 to you. In all this you greatly rejoice, but 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.100 now for a little while you may have had to suffer 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:18.600 grief in all kinds of trials. From 1 Peter 1 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:23.079 .6. And then today. Alright. We have Beverly 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:25.180 Reikow, or Reikow, I'm not sure how to say that 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:28.040 exactly. Juan and Santos Garcia. Beverly is a 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:30.980 302 Hefner, and Juan and Santos are 312 Hefner. 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:34.000 So we're right here on the block. Actually, that 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:38.040 would be... Where did the numbers go? That's 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:40.500 three, right? Anybody know? Three is that way? 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:42.160 Three is that way. Okay, so be right over here 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:43.839 on the opposite side of the street, first and 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.240 second house. Okay? And then 316, Hapner, Shayla 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:52.500 Reed. 318, Hapner, Dasani Minor. And 322, Hapner, 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:56.100 Melissa Witt. And it says, I pray this prayer 00:04:56.100 --> 00:04:57.920 for my neighbors, that they will be strong and 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:00.000 take heart, that they will wait for the Lord. 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:04.079 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:06.699 take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord. From Psalm 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:10.430 27, 14. Okay. So we've made our list and we have 00:05:10.430 --> 00:05:13.110 some idea of prayer. If you have a prayer request 00:05:13.110 --> 00:05:17.529 right now, what is it? If you could ask for one 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:21.470 thing, what is it? Guidance. Amen. Go ahead. 00:05:37.129 --> 00:05:50.470 Help with the broken down truck. Okay? Wow. Okay. 00:05:54.250 --> 00:06:02.910 Wow. Say it again? Madeline. Madeline. Okay, 00:06:02.949 --> 00:06:06.230 Madeline. Wow. Have you... Sometimes you think 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:07.430 you've got it difficult. You hear about being 00:06:07.430 --> 00:06:08.990 cut open over and over again for seven years 00:06:08.990 --> 00:06:11.110 to try to deal with the disease. It's only 20 00:06:11.110 --> 00:06:12.509 years old. That'll put things in perspective. 00:06:13.110 --> 00:06:14.769 Maybe we don't have to go through that. That's 00:06:14.769 --> 00:06:17.430 correct. I remember when I was really bad the 00:06:17.430 --> 00:06:20.990 last few weeks. Yeah, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:24.290 and basically that's just pain. It's just pain, 00:06:24.370 --> 00:06:28.089 and it hurts a lot. I've not personally had mild 00:06:28.089 --> 00:06:33.620 arthritis. I'm dull, but they say. If you have 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:35.300 mild arthritis, if you've ever had aches in your 00:06:35.300 --> 00:06:37.019 joints or maybe overdid it a little bit too much, 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:38.680 aches in your joints working out or doing physical 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:41.500 labor, take that, count about 100, and that's 00:06:41.500 --> 00:06:43.540 five miles. That's right, it's like Ms. Chris 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:45.319 said, so definitely pray for her. Anybody else? 00:06:47.420 --> 00:06:49.500 Okay, so let's pray together, and then we're 00:06:49.500 --> 00:06:52.439 going to worship, and this time it's about the 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:54.860 Lord. It is about his will being done on the 00:06:54.860 --> 00:06:57.480 earth. It's about his kingdom coming. It is about 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:00.019 us learning from him. It's not about the person 00:07:00.019 --> 00:07:01.939 that's elsewhere in the room. I know we have 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:03.699 distractions. I know there are temptations. What? 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:08.300 Go. I would praise AJ, Jack, whatever you're 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:11.959 calling him. Okay. The little baby. His kidneys 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:15.519 are improving, and they're just playing watch 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:17.459 and see. Okay. Well, that's a nice little prayer 00:07:17.459 --> 00:07:19.220 right there. Yeah. All right. So let's pray. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:21.279 Father in heaven, you've heard these requests, 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:23.620 and we know we came into your house, and this 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:26.269 place is a house of prayer. And so everything 00:07:26.269 --> 00:07:27.810 that everyone was saying, they thought they were 00:07:27.810 --> 00:07:29.350 just, well, these are things I need to pray about. 00:07:29.389 --> 00:07:33.290 Well, we know we were praying. This is us coming 00:07:33.290 --> 00:07:36.750 to you with these concerns. We pray for these 00:07:36.750 --> 00:07:38.970 neighbors who are listed. We pray, Lord, that 00:07:38.970 --> 00:07:40.930 they would know you in earnest. They would know 00:07:40.930 --> 00:07:43.389 you personally. That they would receive Jesus 00:07:43.389 --> 00:07:46.889 into their life. That he would become Lord to 00:07:46.889 --> 00:07:49.189 them. That that would become the most important 00:07:49.189 --> 00:07:51.730 thing over human relationships, over jobs, over 00:07:51.730 --> 00:07:54.480 finances, over... whatever else. We don't know 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:56.220 how much time we have left to serve you, Lord, 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:58.100 but we pray that we will be active, and that 00:07:58.100 --> 00:08:00.379 those whose names we called, who are going through 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:02.500 the worst difficulties in their lives, maybe 00:08:02.500 --> 00:08:06.779 they would be blessed, they would receive blessings, 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:10.899 and they hopefully would figure it out and give 00:08:10.899 --> 00:08:13.800 you the glory. And when we know it, when we pray 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:16.420 for somebody and we see a miraculous turn, we 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:19.439 should be open and sharing it. And so we just 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:21.120 want to praise you, Father, for what's going 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.620 on with AJ. There are others as well. I know 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:26.899 even as Chris is praying for ongoing healing 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:29.360 and strength with her arthritis and fibromyalgia, 00:08:29.459 --> 00:08:32.039 but it was way worse earlier this week, and then 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:33.820 you softened it up. And so we just pray, Lord, 00:08:33.860 --> 00:08:36.100 that you would continue to work in and through 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:40.559 our body to serve you. And then let us help you 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.399 then. Help us, I should say. Let us worship you 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:49.019 in a way that honors you now. We could be anywhere 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:52.919 else. We could be here. but not really here. 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:56.779 And we need your help to be really here and worship 00:08:56.779 --> 00:08:58.940 you the way you deserve. We pray this in Jesus' 00:08:59.039 --> 00:14:58.210 name. Amen. to tell you at the opening, if you 00:14:58.210 --> 00:14:59.850 think of it while you're singing, while you're 00:14:59.850 --> 00:15:01.730 praying, pray for me a little bit today. I am 00:15:01.730 --> 00:15:05.710 nursing a mild sore throat, so I will keep this, 00:15:05.769 --> 00:15:07.649 my explanation with Inspiration Momentum very 00:15:07.649 --> 00:15:10.429 short. So, because I need to preach later and 00:15:10.429 --> 00:15:12.190 I'm not going to not worship so I can preach. 00:15:12.230 --> 00:15:13.669 You know what I'm saying? So there's only so 00:15:13.669 --> 00:15:16.070 much left in here. I got cough drops. We'll see 00:15:16.070 --> 00:15:18.009 how that helps if we get to that point. But, 00:15:18.009 --> 00:15:22.409 the point is, this is Inspiration Momentum. What 00:15:22.409 --> 00:15:23.830 have you seen? What have you heard? What has 00:15:23.830 --> 00:15:25.659 God been saying? What did you come to share with 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:28.460 us today? Ms. Grace? Well, I just noticed something 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:30.860 a little bit ago, and it just, like, tickled 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:34.299 my heart. So, when new hearts... New hearts. 00:16:05.070 --> 00:16:08.090 my heart that we're like casting it on. Amen. 00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:16.610 God is good. Alright, who else? So, I thought 00:16:16.610 --> 00:16:18.870 I was going to be poetic today. I didn't always 00:16:18.870 --> 00:16:21.389 try to be poetic. When I was 23 years old, I 00:16:21.389 --> 00:16:25.669 was always in my strange clothes. I was lost. 00:16:25.789 --> 00:16:28.850 I was never able to recover. When I called out 00:16:28.850 --> 00:16:31.289 the name Jesus, He cut my strings. I'm free to 00:16:31.289 --> 00:16:33.700 live for the Lord Jesus. I'm also free not to 00:16:33.700 --> 00:16:36.500 have eternal life and a new spirit, a new life 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:39.460 in Christ Jesus. Done. Said and done. Nothing 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:42.419 to anything can do that. That's something, that 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:44.100 great hope we have in everything as a Christ 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:47.279 follower. But those strains, they're still there. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:51.039 They're cut. And for 10 years, you know, through 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:55.139 insecurity, ignorance, all that stuff, you know, 00:16:55.139 --> 00:16:57.379 I allow people to grab them. Strains get older, 00:16:57.460 --> 00:16:59.960 but not just them, but personal demons, same 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:02.690 as self, all the stuff that's going on. In my 00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:04.750 life, you know, I told somebody the other day, 00:17:04.769 --> 00:17:07.170 I'm not joking, I have a third -degree heartburn 00:17:07.170 --> 00:17:11.349 inside. I'm burning. I'm just absolutely hurting 00:17:11.349 --> 00:17:14.470 like blood. And so I ask you to keep me in prayer 00:17:14.470 --> 00:17:17.930 for that. But no matter what, when I was at VBS 00:17:17.930 --> 00:17:21.130 Tuesday, which is loving, you never can out -serve 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:23.569 God. Never. And when we're truly found in the 00:17:23.569 --> 00:17:25.549 Lord, when we're doing, we're not serving just 00:17:25.549 --> 00:17:27.250 because, you know, we're supposed to. We're serving 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:28.730 because we love Him. We're serving because... 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:30.940 He died for us. We're serving because it's the 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:32.940 right thing to do. When you're serving, you know, 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:35.420 the Lord will speak to you. And, you know, we've 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:38.160 all heard Matthew and Jesus, you know, Tom, come 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:41.220 follow me. Like, especially if you're older, 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:44.579 you've heard it many, many times. And so, but 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:46.200 I got something out of it, you know, I haven't 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:50.279 heard ever. You know, it was so cool when we 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:51.839 were talking about Matthew in the text, when 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:55.900 he said, come follow me. And I got to this point 00:17:55.900 --> 00:17:57.740 where I was like, you know, I don't think for 00:17:57.740 --> 00:18:00.400 a second, that Matthew was looking for Jesus. 00:18:01.619 --> 00:18:04.599 He was a tax collector. He wasn't looking for 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:06.319 the Messiah. He wasn't reaching out for the Messiah. 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:08.880 Now, deep down, everybody's looking for a Messiah. 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:12.160 Everybody's looking for an answer. Everybody's 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.480 looking, but they're not willing to look. But 00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:21.099 Jesus calls him out by name and says, come follow 00:18:21.099 --> 00:18:23.880 me. And it was the coolest thing. It's like, 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:26.759 we're not always looking for God. And I think 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:30.240 that's okay. We're not always wanting to live 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:32.579 for God, do what's God, but that's not the point. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:36.299 It's that God's looking for us. It's that God 00:18:36.299 --> 00:18:39.339 loves us. You know, we're called to serve, and 00:18:39.339 --> 00:18:41.539 I'd like to just say that that's not a good way 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:43.759 to say we're called. It's because God's calling 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:48.140 us by name. He's calling us out by His strength. 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:50.700 He's calling us out by conviction, by hope, by 00:18:50.700 --> 00:18:54.779 His armor, by His group. It's His love that helps 00:18:54.779 --> 00:18:57.950 us reign. for Him to do what we're called to 00:18:57.950 --> 00:19:01.230 do. And I just think that's so cool because when 00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:04.430 we get to that point, we feel like we're burned 00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:07.430 out and we feel like we're done. And God's like, 00:19:07.509 --> 00:19:10.690 you are done because it wasn't your fire. You 00:19:10.690 --> 00:19:13.650 are done because it wasn't your hope. It's not 00:19:13.650 --> 00:19:17.309 ours. It never will be. And I'm not saying that 00:19:17.309 --> 00:19:20.230 God doesn't want to let us have it and be blessed 00:19:20.230 --> 00:19:24.349 by it, but it really isn't ours. It's never ours. 00:19:24.849 --> 00:19:28.190 It's God's. So, what I guess I'm saying out of 00:19:28.190 --> 00:19:31.029 all of this is, you know, when people say God 00:19:31.029 --> 00:19:32.589 loves you, and I have no problem saying God loves 00:19:32.589 --> 00:19:35.670 you, when you say God loves you, you have to 00:19:35.670 --> 00:19:38.009 understand that when God loves you, it means 00:19:38.009 --> 00:19:41.769 that when He says He loves you, it means that 00:19:41.769 --> 00:19:45.490 what love really is, is that God chooses you 00:19:45.490 --> 00:19:48.470 every day to be everything He says that you can 00:19:48.470 --> 00:19:52.490 be. Every day He makes that choice. to be there 00:19:52.490 --> 00:19:55.170 and be the Father and be everything He says He's 00:19:55.170 --> 00:19:58.230 going to be. Because love that extinguishes love 00:19:58.230 --> 00:20:01.109 is no love at all. He stays love. That's why 00:20:01.109 --> 00:20:03.650 God is love. Because He'll never settle for anything 00:20:03.650 --> 00:20:10.609 else that He has loved. Okay, where else? Somebody 00:20:10.609 --> 00:20:15.710 else? You good? Mike? Mike, if you realize we've 00:20:15.710 --> 00:20:18.500 got to share a song. Anyway, by walking the path 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:20.900 of determination, and the obstacles come up, 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:24.160 we're supposed to take a head off and smash through 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.759 it. And it just so happens, I was hit kind of 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:32.420 hard this week. I'm not going to divide any stuff, 00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:39.460 but it was pretty bad. And usually in these situations, 00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:45.069 I blow my stack. I didn't. And I didn't know 00:20:45.069 --> 00:20:48.109 nothing. I looked at my life and what the heck 00:20:48.109 --> 00:20:50.329 was that? And I talked to my dad and he said, 00:20:50.450 --> 00:20:59.250 what? And it hit me, you know why? You know, 00:20:59.269 --> 00:21:00.829 you're supposed to walk that path, be determined. 00:21:01.089 --> 00:21:03.690 No matter what comes through, walk with God and 00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:07.190 you'll tear it down. And I mean, it's really, 00:21:07.369 --> 00:21:12.049 I spoke the words and then I put it into action 00:21:12.049 --> 00:21:15.740 and it blew my ears off. Thank you for putting 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:20.779 it back on before you came here. Praise the Lord. 00:21:20.900 --> 00:21:22.680 That is good stuff. And that's it. I think it's 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:25.700 interesting how we can pile through and break 00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:30.000 down barriers, but when God does it, we're amazed. 00:21:30.680 --> 00:21:33.880 It's awesome. That's a good feeling. You know, 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:36.680 that God is doing it. When we're doing it outside 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:39.099 Him, there's a lot you can do outside God. You 00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:40.759 shouldn't, but there's a lot you can do outside 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:43.019 God that we were created as in the human word. 00:21:43.349 --> 00:21:46.329 not following Him, we can do a lot. Most of that 00:21:46.329 --> 00:21:49.710 ends badly. You wind up paying a dear price for 00:21:49.710 --> 00:21:52.069 it. But man, when He does it, what an awesome 00:21:52.069 --> 00:21:55.130 thing. That's awesome. Alright. Okay, so we're 00:21:55.130 --> 00:21:56.769 going to pray together, jump back into just a 00:21:56.769 --> 00:21:58.690 little more worship, and then go to the Word. 00:21:58.849 --> 00:22:00.809 Thank you so much for coming and willing to share 00:22:00.809 --> 00:22:04.049 your experiences with the Lord this week. That's 00:22:04.049 --> 00:22:06.630 how we all grow. That's how we all work together. 00:22:06.930 --> 00:22:09.190 Right? And take little steps forward and reach 00:22:09.190 --> 00:22:10.990 the heights in Jesus. And everybody here is in 00:22:10.990 --> 00:22:13.069 a different situation. Everybody here is facing 00:22:13.069 --> 00:22:15.589 different trials. But everybody is facing trials 00:22:15.589 --> 00:22:18.309 every day. Right? There is no temptation except 00:22:18.309 --> 00:22:19.869 that which is common to man. But your temptation 00:22:19.869 --> 00:22:22.549 by name might be completely different than somebody 00:22:22.549 --> 00:22:26.049 else. Right? But everybody has it. Let's pray 00:22:26.049 --> 00:22:29.890 together. Father in heaven, as we transition 00:22:29.890 --> 00:22:33.170 today, I'm asking you, Lord, just continue to 00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:35.930 do what you're doing. Just watch over us and 00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:38.730 favor us and give us strength. Encourage us and 00:22:38.730 --> 00:22:41.720 give us endurance. Lord, let us. Let us realize 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:43.759 that it was you who called us out of the darkness. 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:47.480 That it was you who has loved us every step all 00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:50.339 the way along to get us even to this very geographical 00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:53.519 spot here today. Wherever we're at on our journey, 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:55.759 whatever our next stops are, it's going to be 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:58.099 you that's going to be in us and with us and 00:22:58.099 --> 00:23:01.380 carrying us on to the next place. And Lord, thank 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:06.940 you so much that we can see changes in us. It 00:23:06.940 --> 00:23:10.319 really helps us. Helps us glorify you. helps 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.779 us know that you are at work. Lord, we pray for 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:18.079 those who are searching you out, who are searching 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:19.299 out what they're supposed to do. We pray for 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:22.460 guidance and wisdom. As we go to your word, we 00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:25.079 pray for the hope and the strength that only 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:26.920 you can provide, that we can better understand 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:31.339 what it is that you have for us to do, to carry 00:23:31.339 --> 00:23:34.900 out being your people. Fill us with your spirit, 00:23:34.980 --> 00:23:39.740 with knowledge. of who you are and what you have 00:23:39.740 --> 00:23:42.920 us to be, we put ourselves under your direction. 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:45.480 And I thank you for the inspirational moment 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:47.059 in time to be such a part of who we are as a 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:50.380 church. We know that you're speaking. We know 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:52.599 that you're working in our midst. We pray for 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:54.240 our absent folks who didn't get to hear that. 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:57.579 Maybe they're watching on Facebook or going to 00:23:57.579 --> 00:24:01.539 be listening on the podcast. Lord, let them too 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:05.799 grow. Reach new heights in Jesus as they experience 00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:07.799 what you're doing in the lives of others. And 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:09.220 maybe if they're out there, they would have had 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:10.619 something. And they'll come next week and they'll 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:13.619 share it with us. And so we can also grow by 00:24:13.619 --> 00:24:15.680 what they're going through. I ask your blessings 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:19.660 upon the tithes and offerings that are now given. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:21.599 And some of it's electronic and people are giving 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:23.779 online. And some are putting in the offering 00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:25.359 plate. Lord, we know that all the money that 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:27.319 comes from the coffers needs to be used for your 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:30.619 glory. It can be used for glory. And in so doing, 00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:33.880 it can be multiplied. and its influence can be 00:24:33.880 --> 00:24:36.579 multiplied. We're literally supporting missionaries 00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:38.680 that are reaching folks so far away that we'll 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:40.799 never meet them in our lifetime, and at the same 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:43.480 time, Lord, we're doing your work here with what 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:46.180 you bless us with. And so we ask you to do just 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:48.220 exactly that. Bless us with what you have us 00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:51.000 produce for your service, and we praise you for 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:53.319 what you're about to do. We pray this in Jesus' 00:24:53.440 --> 00:25:20.170 name. Amen. if y 'all would stand with us and 00:25:20.170 --> 00:27:56.619 just make a joyful noise. I was so... Sessions, 00:27:56.619 --> 00:37:41.079 campaigns. Good job. and sharing our lives in 00:37:41.079 --> 00:37:46.139 a fairly miraculous way to move us to Michigan. 00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:49.340 And we lived in Mason, Michigan on the square. 00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:52.699 It's a county seat town. And so it's a big square 00:37:52.699 --> 00:37:54.320 right in the middle of town with a courthouse 00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:59.159 in the middle. And on the backside of that square, 00:37:59.260 --> 00:38:02.440 there was a church building. And every summer, 00:38:02.559 --> 00:38:04.539 which we were there for two summers, every summer 00:38:04.539 --> 00:38:08.099 they would have a rummage sale. I like rummage 00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:10.380 sales. I like garage sales. I like flea markets. 00:38:10.659 --> 00:38:13.780 I like everywhere you can buy something for maybe 00:38:13.780 --> 00:38:15.579 about what it's worth or cheaper if you can get 00:38:15.579 --> 00:38:17.619 it, right? And instead of going to the store 00:38:17.619 --> 00:38:20.119 and paying for the price of what it's worth plus 00:38:20.119 --> 00:38:22.800 all the promotion, plus all that kind of stuff. 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:25.820 And keep the lights on and everything like that. 00:38:25.880 --> 00:38:27.440 So I like rummage sales, garage sales, yard sales. 00:38:27.500 --> 00:38:30.719 So I walked with Alicia and Amalia. Amalia was 00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:33.579 only about two and a half years old. And so she 00:38:33.579 --> 00:38:35.909 was in the stroller. And we walked up to the 00:38:35.909 --> 00:38:39.010 rummage sale at the church building there. And 00:38:39.010 --> 00:38:41.409 I bought about like seven things. Now one of 00:38:41.409 --> 00:38:43.590 the things that I bought was a pair of tennis 00:38:43.590 --> 00:38:47.090 shoes. They were Nike tennis shoes. But they 00:38:47.090 --> 00:38:48.769 were tennis shoes like I had never seen before. 00:38:48.869 --> 00:38:51.849 They weren't like radical. Like I just went this 00:38:51.849 --> 00:38:53.090 week and had to buy a new pair of tennis shoes 00:38:53.090 --> 00:38:55.389 and they're red. And I'm like, now I wear red 00:38:55.389 --> 00:38:57.530 shoes. I remember that one red shoe, the movie 00:38:57.530 --> 00:38:59.190 with the spy. And if you're wearing one red shoe, 00:38:59.289 --> 00:39:00.750 that's the spy. But anyway, you probably don't 00:39:00.750 --> 00:39:03.269 know that. But the point is... So this was a 00:39:03.269 --> 00:39:05.429 pair of leather, white leather tennis shoes. 00:39:05.630 --> 00:39:08.150 They're soft leather on top, good sole on the 00:39:08.150 --> 00:39:11.610 bottom. And I bought them for 50 cents. 50 cents. 00:39:11.710 --> 00:39:13.809 Now they were almost like new when I bought them. 00:39:14.010 --> 00:39:16.590 And I like these tennis shoes. I wore these tennis 00:39:16.590 --> 00:39:18.769 shoes, this 50 cent pair of tennis shoes, for 00:39:18.769 --> 00:39:21.469 roughly about three years until the soles were 00:39:21.469 --> 00:39:22.969 starting to get worn out, you know, and they 00:39:22.969 --> 00:39:24.670 weren't providing any cushion for my foot anymore 00:39:24.670 --> 00:39:26.929 and like that. But then I thought, man, I need 00:39:26.929 --> 00:39:29.579 another pair of tennis shoes like that. I thought 00:39:29.579 --> 00:39:31.980 about that brand, I thought about that make and 00:39:31.980 --> 00:39:33.559 model, if you will, of tennis shoes, and I thought, 00:39:33.579 --> 00:39:34.860 I need another pair of tennis shoes like that. 00:39:34.900 --> 00:39:36.659 Now, I would go to the store, I'm thinking to 00:39:36.659 --> 00:39:39.619 myself, I would go to the store, and I would 00:39:39.619 --> 00:39:42.800 pay 60, 80 bucks for this pair of tennis shoes, 00:39:42.900 --> 00:39:45.659 new, because I had it for that several years, 00:39:45.760 --> 00:39:48.219 and I loved it. It was good for my foot, it was 00:39:48.219 --> 00:39:50.639 comfortable, and felt like... I wasn't going 00:39:50.639 --> 00:39:54.239 to twist my ankle, and I'd get wet, my feet wouldn't 00:39:54.239 --> 00:39:56.039 get wet. I mean, they would eventually soak through, 00:39:56.119 --> 00:39:57.320 but they weren't waterproof or anything, but 00:39:57.320 --> 00:39:59.699 it would repel water, and they repelled dirt. 00:39:59.800 --> 00:40:01.159 I didn't have to clean them very often. I'm like, 00:40:01.219 --> 00:40:02.539 this is the best pair of tennis shoes I ever 00:40:02.539 --> 00:40:04.079 owned, and I only paid 50 cents for it. Now I'm 00:40:04.079 --> 00:40:07.539 ready to go to the store and pay like 80 bucks 00:40:07.539 --> 00:40:10.760 for another pair of these tennis shoes. We're 00:40:10.760 --> 00:40:12.619 in the midst of a sermon series called Brand 00:40:12.619 --> 00:40:15.099 Recognition. Now, it's a play on words because, 00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:18.230 and we'll read the text again in a minute. But 00:40:18.230 --> 00:40:20.670 Joshua, the high priest, was called a brand pulled 00:40:20.670 --> 00:40:23.429 from the fire. We talked about how talking about 00:40:23.429 --> 00:40:25.469 a brand like you would brand an animal with or 00:40:25.469 --> 00:40:27.590 back in the day was probably just a hot stick, 00:40:27.710 --> 00:40:30.409 piece of wood, that they would heat up real hot 00:40:30.409 --> 00:40:32.849 and some of the coal would break off and get 00:40:32.849 --> 00:40:35.130 red hot and you could mark something with it. 00:40:36.710 --> 00:40:39.010 But today we're going to talk about the features. 00:40:40.039 --> 00:40:43.579 of a brand that you really would want, okay? 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:45.539 So you probably remember, for those of you who 00:40:45.539 --> 00:40:46.880 were last week, and I apologize, Ken, I'm going 00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:49.679 to fill you in the best I can, but we probably 00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:51.300 remember that we talked about last week that 00:40:51.300 --> 00:40:53.880 this brand thing, right, what we were talking 00:40:53.880 --> 00:40:59.079 about was God favoring or owning someone, and 00:40:59.079 --> 00:41:01.619 then God kind of washing away or wiping away 00:41:01.619 --> 00:41:03.519 their iniquities, and we even talked about how 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:06.360 your righteous acts could be part of that iniquities 00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:08.059 because we're talking about Joshua the high priest 00:41:08.059 --> 00:41:11.019 who's standing before God. in the presence of 00:41:11.019 --> 00:41:13.340 angels and having to have his robes completely 00:41:13.340 --> 00:41:15.340 removed and replaced, even though he was supposedly 00:41:15.340 --> 00:41:18.659 the most righteous man, probably, in Israel. 00:41:18.780 --> 00:41:21.460 Okay, so today we're going to talk about the 00:41:21.460 --> 00:41:26.280 features of the brand that we want, okay? And 00:41:26.280 --> 00:41:28.400 then kind of bear that object lesson in mind. 00:41:28.460 --> 00:41:31.000 If these are really the features of the brand 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:34.320 that you want, then what would you pay? How far 00:41:34.320 --> 00:41:36.820 would you go? What's really, what would you put 00:41:36.820 --> 00:41:40.480 at stake to get that, okay? So we usually amen, 00:41:40.679 --> 00:41:42.920 hoot, holler, screech, yahtzee, something as 00:41:42.920 --> 00:41:46.059 we go to the word of God. And so we're going 00:41:46.059 --> 00:41:49.639 to read from Zechariah chapter 3. Thank you very 00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:51.900 much. I didn't do that today because there is 00:41:51.900 --> 00:41:53.340 a very good possibility by the time I get to 00:41:53.340 --> 00:41:56.599 the invitation at the end of this, I may be whispering. 00:41:57.139 --> 00:41:59.519 So if I have to stop in the middle and suck on 00:41:59.519 --> 00:42:01.280 a cough drop for a second, I apologize in advance. 00:42:01.719 --> 00:42:04.420 I'm pretty sure I'm just having like an allergy 00:42:04.420 --> 00:42:06.280 thing because it's been going on for about three 00:42:06.280 --> 00:42:09.500 weeks. I don't think I'm sick. So I'm not going 00:42:09.500 --> 00:42:12.179 to give it to anybody, but my throat is sore 00:42:12.179 --> 00:42:15.199 and scratchy. And I've had several allergy attacks 00:42:15.199 --> 00:42:17.039 in the last two days. I stopped taking my allergy 00:42:17.039 --> 00:42:19.500 medicine quite a while back because it was giving 00:42:19.500 --> 00:42:20.840 me headaches and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, so 00:42:20.840 --> 00:42:22.639 all that being said, here we go. Joshua chapter 00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:26.480 3, verse 1. And the first of these verses, those 00:42:26.480 --> 00:42:27.980 of you who were here last week or listened to 00:42:27.980 --> 00:42:29.719 the podcast or watched online or something like 00:42:29.719 --> 00:42:31.239 that, will recognize them because they're the 00:42:31.239 --> 00:42:33.619 same text from last week. So I will still break 00:42:33.619 --> 00:42:35.039 it down, but I'm going to go through it faster 00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:37.760 so we can really hammer the one for today, okay? 00:42:38.360 --> 00:42:40.539 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing 00:42:40.539 --> 00:42:43.519 before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing 00:42:43.519 --> 00:42:46.820 at his right hand to accuse him. And so we kind 00:42:46.820 --> 00:42:50.059 of have a sort of a court setting there. And 00:42:50.059 --> 00:42:51.619 we talked about how the angel of the Lord, the 00:42:51.619 --> 00:42:55.179 representative of the Lord, could be God or God's 00:42:55.179 --> 00:42:57.500 angel or could be Jesus if you want to say that 00:42:57.500 --> 00:43:00.199 or whatever. But we have a powerful individual 00:43:00.199 --> 00:43:01.880 representing God standing there and the high 00:43:01.880 --> 00:43:05.269 priest of Israel standing in front of him. And 00:43:05.269 --> 00:43:07.010 then Satan there to accuse him. And it says, 00:43:07.070 --> 00:43:11.070 And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, 00:43:11.110 --> 00:43:14.510 Satan. Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem 00:43:14.510 --> 00:43:17.989 rebuke you. And he says, Is this not a brand 00:43:17.989 --> 00:43:20.030 plucked from the fire? So basically, he shuts 00:43:20.030 --> 00:43:22.329 Satan down and says, Don't accuse him. I don't 00:43:22.329 --> 00:43:23.650 want to hear it. I know he's done bad things. 00:43:23.869 --> 00:43:26.550 Just shut up. That's it. No more. He rebukes 00:43:26.550 --> 00:43:28.949 him. Just stand there and be silent. And then 00:43:28.949 --> 00:43:31.329 he says, is this not a brand plucked from the 00:43:31.329 --> 00:43:32.909 fire? And I gave you a little bit of that just 00:43:32.909 --> 00:43:35.710 a second ago, but the bottom line is, he's talking 00:43:35.710 --> 00:43:37.530 about him, talking about the Israelites, the 00:43:37.530 --> 00:43:39.610 Jerusalemites, how they were really only who 00:43:39.610 --> 00:43:42.329 they were because God had pulled them out, right? 00:43:42.429 --> 00:43:45.710 And we talked about how a brand can do what a 00:43:45.710 --> 00:43:48.050 brand does because of the fire it's been in, 00:43:48.150 --> 00:43:50.329 because of the pain it's gone through, because 00:43:50.329 --> 00:43:53.070 of the heating up it's done. A brand can do that 00:43:53.070 --> 00:43:55.829 because of where it's been, but really God is 00:43:55.829 --> 00:43:59.320 the one who plucked him and plucked, the Jerusalemites, 00:43:59.460 --> 00:44:02.099 and you could say plucked the church out of the 00:44:02.099 --> 00:44:05.059 fires of judgment and pain and tribulation and 00:44:05.059 --> 00:44:08.559 all of that. And he says to Satan, is this not 00:44:08.559 --> 00:44:10.579 a brand plucked from the fire? In other words, 00:44:10.619 --> 00:44:14.079 does it not depend on me? Is he not someone I 00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:16.760 have pulled out, someone I have chosen? And he 00:44:16.760 --> 00:44:19.880 rebuked Satan because of what he had been through 00:44:19.880 --> 00:44:24.099 and also because of what God had done. Alright? 00:44:25.879 --> 00:44:29.300 Now, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments 00:44:29.300 --> 00:44:31.460 and standing before the angel. And right there, 00:44:31.500 --> 00:44:33.039 I told you like the Jerusalemites would have 00:44:33.039 --> 00:44:34.639 went, oh no, that's horrible. He can't be in 00:44:34.639 --> 00:44:36.300 filthy garments because he is the holiest man 00:44:36.300 --> 00:44:39.440 amongst us, right? Verse 4. And he spoke and 00:44:39.440 --> 00:44:41.639 said to those who were standing before him, saying, 00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:45.139 remove the filthy garments from him. Again, he 00:44:45.139 --> 00:44:47.980 said to him. See, I have taken your iniquity 00:44:47.980 --> 00:44:50.619 away from you and I will clothe you with festal 00:44:50.619 --> 00:44:52.940 robes. And so God's going to solve that problem. 00:44:53.059 --> 00:44:55.300 Now the garments could represent his works of 00:44:55.300 --> 00:44:58.000 righteousness, his holiness before God, right? 00:44:58.340 --> 00:45:01.300 And he says, we're going to take that away from 00:45:01.300 --> 00:45:03.579 you because your works of righteousness are as 00:45:03.579 --> 00:45:04.960 filthy, right? If we take that away from you 00:45:04.960 --> 00:45:07.719 and give you a new set of robes, festal celebration 00:45:07.719 --> 00:45:10.980 robes, so you can really get excited about what 00:45:10.980 --> 00:45:13.940 God has done, okay? Then it says in verse 5, 00:45:14.159 --> 00:45:17.059 Then I said, Let them put a clean turban on his 00:45:17.059 --> 00:45:20.000 head, so they put a clean turban on his head. 00:45:20.039 --> 00:45:21.900 So now he's dressed from the top to the bottom 00:45:21.900 --> 00:45:24.340 in all clean clothes, and clothed them with garments 00:45:24.340 --> 00:45:25.960 while the angel of the Lord was standing by. 00:45:26.199 --> 00:45:29.280 Verse 6, The angel of the Lord admonished Joshua. 00:45:29.639 --> 00:45:31.519 So now he's correcting or straightening Joshua. 00:45:31.739 --> 00:45:33.360 This is where it gets interesting for us today. 00:45:33.599 --> 00:45:35.619 The angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 00:45:36.099 --> 00:45:40.599 Thus says the Lord of hosts. Now that's a traditional 00:45:40.599 --> 00:45:44.099 introduction for God speaking. If you will walk 00:45:44.099 --> 00:45:47.360 in my ways, and if you will perform my service, 00:45:47.719 --> 00:45:51.300 then you will also govern my house, and also 00:45:51.300 --> 00:45:54.480 have charge of my courts, and I will grant you 00:45:54.480 --> 00:45:57.380 free access among those who are standing here. 00:45:57.619 --> 00:46:01.539 Remember who that was. The angels, God, Satan, 00:46:01.719 --> 00:46:04.460 right? Free access amongst them. Alright, so, 00:46:04.579 --> 00:46:08.579 first thing I want you to see in here is I want 00:46:08.579 --> 00:46:12.199 you to notice the order of events. Okay? Notice 00:46:12.199 --> 00:46:15.139 the order of events. First of all, he's got the 00:46:15.139 --> 00:46:17.739 new clothes. He's got the festal robes. The stuff 00:46:17.739 --> 00:46:19.260 that he brought with him, the best that he brought 00:46:19.260 --> 00:46:21.099 with him, the righteousness that was as filthy 00:46:21.099 --> 00:46:23.179 rags or whatever that he brought with him has 00:46:23.179 --> 00:46:25.559 been taken from him and he's got the festal robes. 00:46:25.699 --> 00:46:28.179 Now that he's got the festal robes, God looks 00:46:28.179 --> 00:46:36.039 at him and says, Serve. Do what I ask you to 00:46:36.039 --> 00:46:41.590 do. Carry on my charge. And if you do that, then 00:46:41.590 --> 00:46:44.849 I will do this. So he's admonished to do what 00:46:44.849 --> 00:46:48.630 God asked him to do, called into the service, 00:46:48.710 --> 00:46:51.570 if you will, and then God says, if you do that, 00:46:51.690 --> 00:46:54.010 I'll do this. So now let's not talk about getting 00:46:54.010 --> 00:46:56.530 saved, right? He's already a brand pulled from 00:46:56.530 --> 00:46:58.869 the fire. He's already getting the old robes 00:46:58.869 --> 00:47:02.150 taken off, the new robes put on, right? But he 00:47:02.150 --> 00:47:07.309 said, if, now if that having happened, if you 00:47:07.309 --> 00:47:08.929 will do the things that I have told you to do, 00:47:09.030 --> 00:47:12.699 then I will do these things. So there is an if. 00:47:17.079 --> 00:47:20.719 The grace of God that saved him, the grace of 00:47:20.719 --> 00:47:22.840 God that called him out, the grace of God that 00:47:22.840 --> 00:47:25.880 dressed him in festal robes is a prerequisite 00:47:25.880 --> 00:47:35.940 to this if. Understand? Okay. Second thing. The 00:47:35.940 --> 00:47:40.929 question is, why is there an if? You understand 00:47:40.929 --> 00:47:43.849 what he just did? He's standing before the God 00:47:43.849 --> 00:47:47.389 of heaven. Having had his dirty, filthy robes 00:47:47.389 --> 00:47:50.389 removed and a new turban put on his head, the 00:47:50.389 --> 00:47:52.510 festal robes so that the feast can begin, so 00:47:52.510 --> 00:47:54.769 that the great celebration can take place. And 00:47:54.769 --> 00:47:59.650 God says, now, if. Why is there an if? If you're 00:47:59.650 --> 00:48:02.349 saved, why is there an if you will do what God 00:48:02.349 --> 00:48:06.829 asks you to do? But there is an if. There really 00:48:06.829 --> 00:48:10.059 is. It blows my mind. But it's amazing to think 00:48:10.059 --> 00:48:12.219 that you have some concept of where you're going 00:48:12.219 --> 00:48:13.719 and where you're going to spend eternity and 00:48:13.719 --> 00:48:15.699 that God is in you and His Holy Spirit is in 00:48:15.699 --> 00:48:17.219 you and God is seeing you through the difficulties 00:48:17.219 --> 00:48:19.800 and there is an if. That blows my mind that we 00:48:19.800 --> 00:48:23.440 do that. Now I understand that we struggle a 00:48:23.440 --> 00:48:27.179 little bit, if you will, with the flesh still 00:48:27.179 --> 00:48:29.880 being with us and our desires still being there 00:48:29.880 --> 00:48:32.539 and our old man is still sort of present as long 00:48:32.539 --> 00:48:34.780 as we're on this earth. But here is a moment 00:48:34.780 --> 00:48:39.570 at which it is very clear and obvious that God 00:48:39.570 --> 00:48:42.869 has done what God has done. And I submit to you 00:48:42.869 --> 00:48:44.369 that same moment takes place at the moment of 00:48:44.369 --> 00:48:45.869 salvation. If you know you've been born again, 00:48:46.110 --> 00:48:48.230 the Holy Spirit has come in you and now testifies 00:48:48.230 --> 00:48:50.289 with your spirit that you've been saved. If you've 00:48:50.289 --> 00:48:52.489 seen your spiritual gifts begin to be enacted, 00:48:52.829 --> 00:48:55.789 if you've begun to act in the service that God 00:48:55.789 --> 00:48:57.769 has given you to do and you get that little feeling 00:48:57.769 --> 00:48:59.289 from God like, yeah, that was the right thing 00:48:59.289 --> 00:49:03.489 to do, then you know for a fact that this has 00:49:03.489 --> 00:49:07.559 happened for you. then there really shouldn't 00:49:07.559 --> 00:49:12.159 be an if, should there? But there is an if. In 00:49:12.159 --> 00:49:17.239 the book of Amos in chapter 4, I'll go there 00:49:17.239 --> 00:49:18.739 and we'll look at it real quick. If you've got 00:49:18.739 --> 00:49:21.980 your Bibles with you, please do flip over there. 00:49:22.679 --> 00:49:30.340 Amos chapter 4. Through the prophet Amos, God 00:49:30.340 --> 00:49:32.989 is speaking to the nation Israel. And beginning 00:49:32.989 --> 00:49:35.750 in verse 11, I'm only beginning in verse 11 because 00:49:35.750 --> 00:49:38.050 it's kind of a long passage, but it leads up 00:49:38.050 --> 00:49:39.909 to it, and it's exactly like in 10. It says, 00:49:40.010 --> 00:49:41.809 I send a plague among you after the manner of 00:49:41.809 --> 00:49:44.869 Egypt. I slew your young men by the sword. So 00:49:44.869 --> 00:49:47.130 it's the same topic, okay? In 11, he says, I 00:49:47.130 --> 00:49:50.230 overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, 00:49:50.309 --> 00:49:52.449 and you were like a firebrand snatched from a 00:49:52.449 --> 00:49:55.650 blaze. I pulled you out. I took you from the 00:49:55.650 --> 00:49:57.909 fire. What you had been through, I made you able 00:49:57.909 --> 00:49:59.969 to serve me. I made you able to be saved. I pulled 00:49:59.969 --> 00:50:05.219 you out. He says, but then I overthrew you. Yet 00:50:05.219 --> 00:50:07.420 you have not returned to me, declares the Lord. 00:50:07.599 --> 00:50:10.219 See, they exercised the wrong side of the it. 00:50:10.360 --> 00:50:11.760 He said, if you'll do this, if you'll do what 00:50:11.760 --> 00:50:13.400 I ask you to do, after I pulled you out of the 00:50:13.400 --> 00:50:15.820 fire, if you'll do this, but then they didn't. 00:50:16.159 --> 00:50:18.039 But yet you have not returned to me, declares 00:50:18.039 --> 00:50:20.539 the Lord. Therefore, thus I will do to you, O 00:50:20.539 --> 00:50:23.400 Israel, because I shall do this to you, prepared 00:50:23.400 --> 00:50:26.480 to meet your God, O Israel. For behold, he who 00:50:26.480 --> 00:50:28.559 forms mountains and creates the wind and declares 00:50:28.559 --> 00:50:31.159 to man what are his thoughts, he who makes dawn 00:50:31.159 --> 00:50:33.380 into darkness and treads on the high places of 00:50:33.380 --> 00:50:35.920 the earth, the Lord God of hosts is his name. 00:50:38.239 --> 00:50:40.980 Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge. 00:50:41.059 --> 00:50:43.099 You know what a dirge is, right? That's not a 00:50:43.099 --> 00:50:45.820 good song. That's a sad song. That's a striking 00:50:45.820 --> 00:50:50.980 song. O house of Israel, she has fallen. She 00:50:50.980 --> 00:50:53.619 will not rise again, the virgin Israel. She lies 00:50:53.619 --> 00:50:56.380 neglected on her land. There is none to raise 00:50:56.380 --> 00:50:59.179 her up, for thus says the Lord God. The city 00:50:59.179 --> 00:51:01.699 which goes forth a thousand strong will have 00:51:01.699 --> 00:51:04.639 a hundred left. And the one which goes forth 00:51:04.639 --> 00:51:08.000 a hundred strong will have ten left to the house 00:51:08.000 --> 00:51:10.429 of Israel. For thus says the Lord of the house 00:51:10.429 --> 00:51:12.690 of Israel, Seek me that you may live, but do 00:51:12.690 --> 00:51:15.070 not resort to Bethel, and do not come to Gilgal, 00:51:15.190 --> 00:51:17.369 nor cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will 00:51:17.369 --> 00:51:19.110 certainly go into captivity, and Bethel will 00:51:19.110 --> 00:51:21.809 come to trouble. Seek the Lord that you may live, 00:51:21.989 --> 00:51:24.650 lest he break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, 00:51:24.730 --> 00:51:27.230 and it consume with none to quench it for Bethel. 00:51:28.070 --> 00:51:30.869 For those who turn justice into wormwood, and 00:51:30.869 --> 00:51:34.590 cast righteousness down to the earth, he who 00:51:34.590 --> 00:51:37.730 made the Pallades and Orion, those are constellations 00:51:37.730 --> 00:51:40.559 in the sky, and changes deep darkness into morning, 00:51:40.719 --> 00:51:43.440 who also darkens day into night, who calls for 00:51:43.440 --> 00:51:45.320 the waters of the sea and pours them out on the 00:51:45.320 --> 00:51:47.940 surface of the earth. The Lord is His name. It 00:51:47.940 --> 00:51:50.079 is He who flashes forth with destruction upon 00:51:50.079 --> 00:51:52.519 the strong, so that destruction comes upon the 00:51:52.519 --> 00:51:55.619 fortress. They hate Him who reproves in the gate. 00:51:56.030 --> 00:51:58.170 and they abhor him who speaks with integrity. 00:51:58.789 --> 00:52:00.869 In other words, it got to be in their society 00:52:00.869 --> 00:52:03.130 that they didn't flock to the people who were 00:52:03.130 --> 00:52:04.530 doing the right thing, that were speaking up 00:52:04.530 --> 00:52:07.030 for the right thing. Instead, they despised those 00:52:07.030 --> 00:52:09.650 who spoke out for what was right. Therefore, 00:52:09.769 --> 00:52:12.590 because you impose heavy rent on the poor, exact 00:52:12.590 --> 00:52:14.869 a tribute of grain from them, though you have 00:52:14.869 --> 00:52:17.789 built houses of well -hewn stone, yet you will 00:52:17.789 --> 00:52:21.010 not live in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, 00:52:21.150 --> 00:52:23.719 yet you will not drink their wine. For I know 00:52:23.719 --> 00:52:25.940 your transgressions are many, and your sins are 00:52:25.940 --> 00:52:29.480 great. You who distress the righteous and accept 00:52:29.480 --> 00:52:31.719 bribes and turn aside the poor and the gate. 00:52:31.780 --> 00:52:34.679 Therefore, at such a time, the prudent person 00:52:34.679 --> 00:52:36.980 keeps silent, for it is an evil time. In other 00:52:36.980 --> 00:52:39.239 words, there were people who could speak up, 00:52:39.260 --> 00:52:40.780 but they were being quiet because they knew they 00:52:40.780 --> 00:52:45.739 would be attacked. Seek good and not evil, that 00:52:45.739 --> 00:52:48.320 you may live. And thus may the Lord God of hosts 00:52:48.320 --> 00:52:51.440 be with you, such as you have said. Hate evil, 00:52:51.599 --> 00:52:54.659 love good, establish justice in the gate. Perhaps 00:52:54.659 --> 00:52:56.940 the Lord God of hosts may be gracious to the 00:52:56.940 --> 00:52:58.920 remnant of Joseph. You see what they had done? 00:52:59.079 --> 00:53:01.199 There was an if. They were a brand pulled from 00:53:01.199 --> 00:53:03.920 the fire. God literally favored them. During 00:53:03.920 --> 00:53:06.119 the day of Joshua, there's a story about Joshua 00:53:06.119 --> 00:53:09.460 going out to war against a huge army, and God 00:53:09.460 --> 00:53:12.280 rained meteor rocks down on and crushed thousands 00:53:12.280 --> 00:53:14.539 and thousands of enemy soldiers before they ever 00:53:14.539 --> 00:53:17.829 began the battle. God did amazing things on behalf 00:53:17.829 --> 00:53:19.409 of Israel, brought them out of Egypt. Look at 00:53:19.409 --> 00:53:21.429 the plagues, for crying out loud. Look at the 00:53:21.429 --> 00:53:23.869 things that he had done. And instead of following 00:53:23.869 --> 00:53:25.889 God, they exercised the if. Now they were already 00:53:25.889 --> 00:53:29.889 and still a brand plucked from the fire. God 00:53:29.889 --> 00:53:31.929 had already favored them, chosen them, declared 00:53:31.929 --> 00:53:33.969 them. They were already a brand plucked from 00:53:33.969 --> 00:53:36.030 the fire, but then being a brand plucked from 00:53:36.030 --> 00:53:37.530 the fire, they didn't do what they were supposed 00:53:37.530 --> 00:53:42.329 to do. There is an if, and it remains. And I'm 00:53:42.329 --> 00:53:43.949 going to submit to you that after becoming a 00:53:43.949 --> 00:53:46.269 follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, this if is 00:53:46.269 --> 00:53:55.090 still the big question of your life. In the book 00:53:55.090 --> 00:53:57.429 of James in the New Testament, it talks about 00:53:57.429 --> 00:54:00.730 it in different terms, New Testament terms. If 00:54:00.730 --> 00:54:02.469 you want to flip there, you can. The book of 00:54:02.469 --> 00:54:08.460 James. Want to bless your pastor? Bring your 00:54:08.460 --> 00:54:11.920 Bible? Flip accordingly. If you can't keep up, 00:54:11.920 --> 00:54:13.599 use the table of contents. It's okay. I have 00:54:13.599 --> 00:54:14.980 to use the table of contents. Sometimes standing 00:54:14.980 --> 00:54:16.320 right here, I have to use the table of contents. 00:54:16.760 --> 00:54:21.960 James 4, 11 -17. It says this. Do not speak against 00:54:21.960 --> 00:54:24.079 one another, brethren. He who speaks against 00:54:24.079 --> 00:54:25.719 a brother or judges his brother speaks against 00:54:25.719 --> 00:54:27.760 the law and judges the law. But if you judge 00:54:27.760 --> 00:54:30.360 the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a 00:54:30.360 --> 00:54:33.159 judge of it. Now this is written to Christians, 00:54:33.360 --> 00:54:36.519 followers of the Lord. Who are a brand already 00:54:36.519 --> 00:54:38.760 plucked from the fire. Who already have a set 00:54:38.760 --> 00:54:40.639 of festal robes prepared for them in heaven. 00:54:40.840 --> 00:54:43.000 Right? This is written to Christians. He says, 00:54:43.079 --> 00:54:46.679 you become a judge of it. There is only one lawgiver 00:54:46.679 --> 00:54:48.679 and judge. The one who is able to save and to 00:54:48.679 --> 00:54:50.920 destroy. But who are you who judge your neighbor? 00:54:51.179 --> 00:54:53.920 Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we shall 00:54:53.920 --> 00:54:55.940 go to such and such a city and spend a year there 00:54:55.940 --> 00:54:58.630 and engage in business and make a profit. Yet 00:54:58.630 --> 00:55:00.710 you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. 00:55:00.909 --> 00:55:02.989 You are just a vapor that appears for a little 00:55:02.989 --> 00:55:05.309 while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought 00:55:05.309 --> 00:55:08.570 to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and 00:55:08.570 --> 00:55:12.289 also do this or that. But as it is, you boast 00:55:12.289 --> 00:55:14.449 in your ignorance. All such boasting is evil. 00:55:14.690 --> 00:55:17.010 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to 00:55:17.010 --> 00:55:20.170 do and does not do it, to him it is sin. Can 00:55:20.170 --> 00:55:23.030 you believe that? Can you believe that people 00:55:23.030 --> 00:55:24.949 who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who 00:55:24.949 --> 00:55:27.309 have had... The God of heaven come down and be 00:55:27.309 --> 00:55:30.610 crucified on the cross. And then the Holy Spirit 00:55:30.610 --> 00:55:33.449 poured out into them and become the church. That 00:55:33.449 --> 00:55:35.389 those people would then go, well I know what 00:55:35.389 --> 00:55:37.630 I'm supposed to do, but I'm not going to do it. 00:55:38.570 --> 00:55:44.610 But people do it. We have done it. Let's be realistic. 00:55:46.849 --> 00:55:56.219 There is an if. Some people won't do what God 00:55:56.219 --> 00:56:00.239 wants them to do some of the time, you might 00:56:00.239 --> 00:56:02.079 even say some of them all of the time, after 00:56:02.079 --> 00:56:08.320 becoming saved. Does it sound stupid? Yes. If 00:56:08.320 --> 00:56:10.659 your eternal soul is saved, why muddy it with 00:56:10.659 --> 00:56:14.179 stupid actions that go contrary to God? But people 00:56:14.179 --> 00:56:17.340 do it. People don't do sometimes what it is that 00:56:17.340 --> 00:56:20.500 God would have them to do. Let's take a little 00:56:20.500 --> 00:56:22.619 bit of a closer look then for our third point 00:56:22.619 --> 00:56:25.699 at the contingent promise. It sort of breaks 00:56:25.699 --> 00:56:30.860 down in pieces. First of all, he basically instructs 00:56:30.860 --> 00:56:37.219 him to govern his house. Now, do you know what 00:56:37.219 --> 00:56:40.659 the house of the Lord is? You understand that 00:56:40.659 --> 00:56:44.679 it's not this building, right? Or any building 00:56:44.679 --> 00:56:47.980 that says church on the wall? Now, that doesn't 00:56:47.980 --> 00:56:49.900 give you an excuse not to come. to worship with 00:56:49.900 --> 00:56:51.199 believers. You're supposed to do that. That's 00:56:51.199 --> 00:56:57.719 a biblical principle. This now becomes the house. 00:57:00.179 --> 00:57:06.300 And you govern it. God didn't save you and then 00:57:06.300 --> 00:57:10.039 take your body away from you. He said, all of 00:57:10.039 --> 00:57:12.460 this that I have now entrusted you with, now 00:57:12.460 --> 00:57:15.340 because you know that I have entrusted you with 00:57:15.340 --> 00:57:22.219 this, govern it. Do a good job. Exercise the 00:57:22.219 --> 00:57:24.840 authority and power that I have given you. You 00:57:24.840 --> 00:57:31.420 now have a responsibility. He says the phrase, 00:57:31.519 --> 00:57:33.579 take charge of my courts. Now the courts of the 00:57:33.579 --> 00:57:36.460 temple were the areas outside. And you may or 00:57:36.460 --> 00:57:38.460 may not realize this, but they were not governed 00:57:38.460 --> 00:57:41.360 by the priests. So the outer courts, for example, 00:57:41.380 --> 00:57:43.519 where the Gentiles worshipped even, Solomon's 00:57:43.519 --> 00:57:45.539 colonnade, they were not governed by the priests. 00:57:46.030 --> 00:57:48.010 They were governed by the king or later by whatever 00:57:48.010 --> 00:57:49.869 ruler was ruling over when the temple existed 00:57:49.869 --> 00:57:52.809 and there was no Israelite king. Right? They 00:57:52.809 --> 00:57:57.750 were governed by the government. But here, God, 00:57:57.889 --> 00:58:01.630 if you will, is giving Joshua command or control 00:58:01.630 --> 00:58:05.869 of the grounds outside the main temple. He's 00:58:05.869 --> 00:58:08.170 taking it away from the king which he assigned 00:58:08.170 --> 00:58:10.429 and putting it back in the hands of the high 00:58:10.429 --> 00:58:14.369 priest. What does that mean for us? It means 00:58:14.369 --> 00:58:17.530 that you, have to exercise the authority that 00:58:17.530 --> 00:58:20.610 is in you to deal with that which is outside 00:58:20.610 --> 00:58:23.869 of you. So it's not just I'm responsible for 00:58:23.869 --> 00:58:26.769 me. You don't just get to go anymore. Okay, as 00:58:26.769 --> 00:58:29.130 long as I'm controlling myself and I'm not watching 00:58:29.130 --> 00:58:30.550 things I shouldn't watch, I'm not doing things 00:58:30.550 --> 00:58:32.269 I shouldn't do, I'm not saying things I shouldn't 00:58:32.269 --> 00:58:34.389 say, as long as I'm not eating things I shouldn't 00:58:34.389 --> 00:58:36.289 eat, as long as I'm exercising enough and I am 00:58:36.289 --> 00:58:39.130 living an austere life for God, all is good. 00:58:39.449 --> 00:58:42.170 And stop right there. That's just not enough. 00:58:42.829 --> 00:58:45.449 God is putting under the charge of the believer 00:58:45.449 --> 00:58:48.170 or of the brand taken out of the fire who, just 00:58:48.170 --> 00:58:50.050 let's be real quick and say this again, who can 00:58:50.050 --> 00:58:51.829 do the work because they have seen the fire, 00:58:51.909 --> 00:58:53.190 they've been in the fire, they've been marked 00:58:53.190 --> 00:58:55.230 by the fire, they've been heated up, if you will, 00:58:55.289 --> 00:58:57.510 by the fires of judgment and tribulation, and 00:58:57.510 --> 00:59:00.190 then plucked out by God. Because of that, he 00:59:00.190 --> 00:59:03.329 then puts the brand to work, not only to do within 00:59:03.329 --> 00:59:06.050 itself, not for me only to do within what's in 00:59:06.050 --> 00:59:08.329 myself, but also to be concerned about what goes 00:59:08.329 --> 00:59:15.210 on around me. Govern my house. Take charge of 00:59:15.210 --> 00:59:18.690 my courts. Also, in that whole idea of taking 00:59:18.690 --> 00:59:21.530 charge of my courts, is the idea of doing what 00:59:21.530 --> 00:59:26.230 religion, meaning what God commands, the laws, 00:59:26.329 --> 00:59:28.190 the rules, the precepts, the principles, right? 00:59:28.349 --> 00:59:30.510 Doing that, even if you were not saved, this 00:59:30.510 --> 00:59:32.570 would be true, but as a saved person, you still 00:59:32.570 --> 00:59:36.329 got to do what you're supposed to do. And as 00:59:36.329 --> 00:59:37.989 you do that, as you learn what it is that God 00:59:37.989 --> 00:59:39.989 would have you do, you carry that thing out. 00:59:40.329 --> 00:59:42.539 Now this is the... The beauty of this, first 00:59:42.539 --> 00:59:44.519 of all, let me just real quick, you may or may 00:59:44.519 --> 00:59:45.880 not know this, we're not going to read it, but 00:59:45.880 --> 00:59:48.360 there's a story in the New Testament, and everybody 00:59:48.360 --> 00:59:49.960 likes to call it the story of the prodigal son, 00:59:50.179 --> 00:59:52.019 even though the word prodigal never appears in 00:59:52.019 --> 00:59:53.820 the story, and Jesus doesn't say that either 00:59:53.820 --> 00:59:57.119 in his own speech, but it's about a son, a second 00:59:57.119 --> 00:59:59.079 son, who wanted to take his part of the inheritance 00:59:59.079 --> 01:00:00.780 and live well while his dad was still alive, 01:00:00.880 --> 01:00:02.360 because he didn't want to wait for the old man 01:00:02.360 --> 01:00:04.639 to die off. And so he does. The old man gives 01:00:04.639 --> 01:00:06.219 him his wealth, and he goes off and lives, and 01:00:06.219 --> 01:00:08.400 he goes on a foreign land, and he spends it frivolously. 01:00:08.440 --> 01:00:10.219 I heard a children's Bible say he bought a donkey, 01:00:10.300 --> 01:00:11.800 and then later that day just gave it away for 01:00:11.800 --> 01:00:14.320 free. He drank all the time, things like that. 01:00:14.420 --> 01:00:16.500 You know, he just spent all this money up, right? 01:00:16.639 --> 01:00:18.380 And then it's all gone, and he winds up feeding 01:00:18.380 --> 01:00:20.280 the pigs in the field, and he says, man, my servants 01:00:20.280 --> 01:00:22.059 in my father's household live better than this. 01:00:22.179 --> 01:00:23.820 I'm just going to go home and beg my father to 01:00:23.820 --> 01:00:25.719 just let me be one of his servants. So he goes 01:00:25.719 --> 01:00:27.940 home, and his dad's waiting for him on the porch, 01:00:27.980 --> 01:00:29.760 and he sees him, comes, runs, falls on him, kisses 01:00:29.760 --> 01:00:32.059 him on the neck. Right? Kisses him on the neck. 01:00:32.079 --> 01:00:35.440 He's like, oh, my son who was dead, who was lost, 01:00:35.500 --> 01:00:38.860 is now alive and fine. And he's so happy. And 01:00:38.860 --> 01:00:42.760 he does four things immediately. Okay. Not a 01:00:42.760 --> 01:00:44.619 rhetorical question. Altogether the body. What 01:00:44.619 --> 01:00:48.139 are the four gifts, things, what does he do for 01:00:48.139 --> 01:00:50.039 the son returning? Anybody know any of them? 01:00:52.380 --> 01:00:57.039 Yep. What? The robe is one. Feast is another. 01:00:57.500 --> 01:01:00.059 Sandal is another. We're missing one. What? The 01:01:00.059 --> 01:01:01.780 ring, perfect. We got them all. That's exactly 01:01:01.780 --> 01:01:03.559 right. Now, does anybody know what the four things 01:01:03.559 --> 01:01:07.039 represent? Because you can figure it out. What's 01:01:07.039 --> 01:01:09.340 a ring represent? Think medieval times, not today. 01:01:10.300 --> 01:01:14.980 Power, authority, right? It can represent wealth, 01:01:15.039 --> 01:01:16.219 but it wasn't that kind of ring. It was more 01:01:16.219 --> 01:01:18.280 like a father giving his son a ring. I'm going 01:01:18.280 --> 01:01:20.159 to give you a diamond ring. I love you. Here's 01:01:20.159 --> 01:01:22.900 my diamond ring. Men do that for women. Sometimes 01:01:22.900 --> 01:01:25.260 women do that for men, but this was a ring of 01:01:25.260 --> 01:01:27.480 authority, right? This is power. This is, you 01:01:27.480 --> 01:01:30.760 know, what? take charge of my house. Now, he 01:01:30.760 --> 01:01:32.320 wasn't taking it away from his older brother 01:01:32.320 --> 01:01:33.579 necessarily, I'm not saying that, but he was 01:01:33.579 --> 01:01:36.059 reinstating his authority. He was not accepting 01:01:36.059 --> 01:01:38.300 him as a servant, right? He gave him a robe. 01:01:38.619 --> 01:01:40.579 So anybody here who's ever been cold knows what 01:01:40.579 --> 01:01:46.780 a robe represents. Protection, right? Or provision, 01:01:46.900 --> 01:01:49.159 kind of, sort of, to take care of him, right? 01:01:49.219 --> 01:01:51.449 So he gave him his protection. He put his robe 01:01:51.449 --> 01:01:53.130 on him. When he walked back in that house, he'd 01:01:53.130 --> 01:01:55.050 walk back in in that Gentile clothes he was wearing 01:01:55.050 --> 01:01:56.690 from the other kingdom that were rags, terrible 01:01:56.690 --> 01:01:58.329 looking. Everybody in the house would have thought, 01:01:58.369 --> 01:02:00.150 well, he's at best a servant if they didn't know 01:02:00.150 --> 01:02:02.730 who he was. But he put his robe, a nice robe 01:02:02.730 --> 01:02:06.110 on him, right? He gave him the provision or protection. 01:02:06.570 --> 01:02:10.210 And then he had a feast, somebody said, and he 01:02:10.210 --> 01:02:11.610 put sandals on his feet. Does anybody know what 01:02:11.610 --> 01:02:12.809 sandals represent? Come on, you got to know what 01:02:12.809 --> 01:02:16.119 that represents, right? What? Kind of, yeah, 01:02:16.219 --> 01:02:18.400 kind of peace, but it's really like bringing 01:02:18.400 --> 01:02:21.019 peace, right? It's the message of peace. It's 01:02:21.019 --> 01:02:23.539 purpose. The sandals represent purpose. So you 01:02:23.539 --> 01:02:25.239 know you've got to take the gospel of peace, 01:02:25.320 --> 01:02:26.380 and that's where you're going with that, right? 01:02:26.539 --> 01:02:28.360 And so the sandals represent purpose. So he gave 01:02:28.360 --> 01:02:30.539 him purpose. So you're back, you get my authority, 01:02:30.719 --> 01:02:32.440 you get my protection, you get my purpose. Let's 01:02:32.440 --> 01:02:34.019 go have a party. And he gives him provision. 01:02:34.840 --> 01:02:37.260 Now it's interesting because the robe, which 01:02:37.260 --> 01:02:39.980 could be considered protection, also the feast 01:02:39.980 --> 01:02:42.079 could kind of be considered protection because 01:02:42.079 --> 01:02:44.670 he was hungry. The robe could be considered provision. 01:02:45.010 --> 01:02:46.909 The feast could also be considered provision. 01:02:47.090 --> 01:02:49.030 You know why those two are so close to interchangeable? 01:02:50.630 --> 01:02:53.909 Because of what we're studying today. Because 01:02:53.909 --> 01:02:57.030 of what we're studying today. Govern my house, 01:02:57.110 --> 01:03:00.070 take charge of my courts, and I will give you 01:03:00.070 --> 01:03:06.670 free access. Let's go back and read from Zechariah 01:03:06.670 --> 01:03:09.429 again, that last verse, what God said he would 01:03:09.429 --> 01:03:17.969 actually give if. Only if. Back in Zechariah 01:03:17.969 --> 01:03:23.210 3, starting in verse 6, And the angel of the 01:03:23.210 --> 01:03:25.510 Lord admonished Joshua, saying, Thus says the 01:03:25.510 --> 01:03:27.630 Lord of hosts, If you will walk in my ways, if 01:03:27.630 --> 01:03:29.829 you will perform my service, then you will also 01:03:29.829 --> 01:03:32.210 govern my house and have charge of my courts. 01:03:32.409 --> 01:03:35.469 You will govern my house. You will take charge 01:03:35.469 --> 01:03:39.650 of my courts. He says, And I will grant you free 01:03:39.650 --> 01:03:43.340 access among those who are standing here. Free 01:03:43.340 --> 01:03:47.239 access. I don't know, probably eight years ago 01:03:47.239 --> 01:03:50.460 or something, in our household, we got a Prime 01:03:50.460 --> 01:03:53.400 membership. At the time, we got it for free. 01:03:53.420 --> 01:03:55.460 We had it for a whole year for free. And then 01:03:55.460 --> 01:03:57.159 we've had it since then. So when you order something 01:03:57.159 --> 01:03:58.699 on Amazon Prime, they deliver it to you in two 01:03:58.699 --> 01:04:00.320 days. They're supposed to, most times, two days. 01:04:00.380 --> 01:04:03.320 And they don't charge you to deliver it. So we 01:04:03.320 --> 01:04:04.920 order quite a bit of stuff online, especially 01:04:04.920 --> 01:04:07.159 for the ministry and then for the house. You 01:04:07.159 --> 01:04:08.699 can order things online cheaper than you can 01:04:08.699 --> 01:04:10.420 buy them in person and stuff. We're busy people. 01:04:10.519 --> 01:04:12.340 It's very convenient. So anytime we want it, 01:04:12.360 --> 01:04:13.780 we just order online. It just shows up on the 01:04:13.780 --> 01:04:16.800 doorstep a couple days later. Free access. Free 01:04:16.800 --> 01:04:17.940 access to whatever you want, except you've got 01:04:17.940 --> 01:04:19.920 to pay for the item, right? But what does this 01:04:19.920 --> 01:04:22.019 mean? This means you don't even got to pay for 01:04:22.019 --> 01:04:24.420 it. This is literally free access. I want you 01:04:24.420 --> 01:04:27.900 to think of the throne room of God as a battle 01:04:27.900 --> 01:04:32.409 room. In the palace, in the castle, in the stronghold, 01:04:32.550 --> 01:04:36.030 the king's chambers, when the country goes to 01:04:36.030 --> 01:04:38.090 war, you walk in there and you see a big map 01:04:38.090 --> 01:04:39.809 on the table. You can picture this big map on 01:04:39.809 --> 01:04:41.809 the table, right? And there's the forces of the 01:04:41.809 --> 01:04:44.110 enemy and the forces of God or the forces of 01:04:44.110 --> 01:04:45.789 the human king, right? And they're all marked 01:04:45.789 --> 01:04:49.710 out on the map. And the generals come in and 01:04:49.710 --> 01:04:51.650 they say, well, clearly you can see over here 01:04:51.650 --> 01:04:53.650 we're outnumbered, but we need more forces. And 01:04:53.650 --> 01:04:54.989 so the king says, okay, well, we'll take these 01:04:54.989 --> 01:04:57.579 forces and we'll move them over there. This is 01:04:57.579 --> 01:05:00.800 free access to the throne room of God. This is 01:05:00.800 --> 01:05:03.000 the authority of God to do what must be done. 01:05:03.199 --> 01:05:05.139 This is the authority of God to rebuke demons 01:05:05.139 --> 01:05:07.139 and evil spirits. This is the authority of God 01:05:07.139 --> 01:05:09.079 to heal. This is the authority of God to prophecy. 01:05:09.320 --> 01:05:11.019 This is the authority of God to preach. This 01:05:11.019 --> 01:05:12.599 is the authority of God to deliver the power 01:05:12.599 --> 01:05:17.710 of God into the ministry of men. God said, yes, 01:05:17.889 --> 01:05:19.829 you're a brand plucked from the fire. Yes, I 01:05:19.829 --> 01:05:21.630 will give you perfect festal robes and you will 01:05:21.630 --> 01:05:24.010 spend eternity in heaven with me. Now, understanding 01:05:24.010 --> 01:05:26.929 that, if you will do what I tell you to do in 01:05:26.929 --> 01:05:30.250 a specific list, then I will give you free access 01:05:30.250 --> 01:05:33.769 to the throne room of God. Why does the church 01:05:33.769 --> 01:05:36.050 not have this kind of power? Why do Christians 01:05:36.050 --> 01:05:38.699 who say that they're living for the Lord? And 01:05:38.699 --> 01:05:40.300 we could all go, well, you say you live for the 01:05:40.300 --> 01:05:42.500 Lord, but see this, you know, you're not even 01:05:42.500 --> 01:05:44.079 in the church. You're not serving. You're not 01:05:44.079 --> 01:05:46.260 worshiping. You're not giving. You're not doing 01:05:46.260 --> 01:05:49.280 what you're supposed to do. And they say, I can't 01:05:49.280 --> 01:05:51.739 seem to feel God. I had a lady just tell me this 01:05:51.739 --> 01:05:53.920 week, I was witnessing to her actually over Facebook 01:05:53.920 --> 01:05:55.440 Messenger. I've been praying with her and stuff 01:05:55.440 --> 01:05:57.000 off and on over Facebook Messenger because she's 01:05:57.000 --> 01:05:58.300 been going through some stuff in her life. And 01:05:58.300 --> 01:05:59.860 she used to be in my youth group back at East 01:05:59.860 --> 01:06:03.920 Lido. Some of you would know her. And she said 01:06:03.920 --> 01:06:05.780 to me, she said, I just felt like God was so 01:06:05.780 --> 01:06:09.050 far away. While I was living with my boyfriend, 01:06:09.289 --> 01:06:12.630 I just felt God was so far away. And she said, 01:06:12.710 --> 01:06:14.250 I've been thinking about going out today right 01:06:14.250 --> 01:06:15.750 after work and buying a Bible because I felt 01:06:15.750 --> 01:06:17.570 like God was so far away. Okay, so there's two 01:06:17.570 --> 01:06:20.349 right there. If you will live for God, if you 01:06:20.349 --> 01:06:23.210 will take charge of my courts, take charge of 01:06:23.210 --> 01:06:26.550 my house and rule over my courts, then I will 01:06:26.550 --> 01:06:28.869 give you access to the throne room of God. That's 01:06:28.869 --> 01:06:33.170 what he said to the high priest of Israel. He 01:06:33.170 --> 01:06:35.329 said, if you will do that, I will give you access 01:06:35.329 --> 01:06:39.449 to the throne room. We think it's kind of amazing. 01:06:40.090 --> 01:06:43.050 Sometimes I think if I'm God and Satan comes 01:06:43.050 --> 01:06:44.309 to the throne room like, oh, here's my chance. 01:06:45.530 --> 01:06:47.929 I mean, obviously God could do that any day, 01:06:47.969 --> 01:06:49.789 any time, right? He chooses not to. But that's 01:06:49.789 --> 01:06:51.489 kind of how I feel about it because Satan really 01:06:51.489 --> 01:06:53.469 is sort of like, I see him kind of like my enemy. 01:06:53.690 --> 01:06:56.070 And I would squish him if I could, except I'm 01:06:56.070 --> 01:06:58.610 not supposed to do that. And I know that and 01:06:58.610 --> 01:07:00.969 I don't focus on it. But the point is, I think 01:07:00.969 --> 01:07:03.750 he just walks into the throne room. Here I am 01:07:03.750 --> 01:07:06.670 to accuse Joshua. And God just says, just shut 01:07:06.670 --> 01:07:11.159 up. He doesn't say, die. He says, shut up. Right? 01:07:11.559 --> 01:07:14.400 You can have access to the throne room of God 01:07:14.400 --> 01:07:16.760 where Satan will stand at the right hand of God 01:07:16.760 --> 01:07:19.599 accusing, well, probably just a little bit outside 01:07:19.599 --> 01:07:21.340 that now, right? Because there's Jesus there 01:07:21.340 --> 01:07:25.320 in the way. But the bottom line is, you can have 01:07:25.320 --> 01:07:28.900 access to the throne room of God if you will 01:07:28.900 --> 01:07:31.780 take charge and rule over and govern his house 01:07:31.780 --> 01:07:37.380 and his courts. We wonder why the church doesn't 01:07:37.380 --> 01:07:38.659 have the power the church is supposed to have. 01:07:40.760 --> 01:07:43.860 Because we think it's an if, and we choose not 01:07:43.860 --> 01:07:45.980 to do some of the things that God has given us 01:07:45.980 --> 01:07:48.400 to do. You say, well, I don't know. I don't even 01:07:48.400 --> 01:07:50.219 know for sure I know exactly what those things 01:07:50.219 --> 01:07:52.380 are. But you do know some of exactly what those 01:07:52.380 --> 01:07:55.960 things are. The truth is, out of this Scripture, 01:07:56.059 --> 01:07:58.500 we can see that God has promised us, He has shown 01:07:58.500 --> 01:08:02.099 us that God will rebuke Satan. He will change 01:08:02.099 --> 01:08:09.570 our robes. And he will something more. But that's 01:08:09.570 --> 01:08:12.690 as far as most people get. As far as most people 01:08:12.690 --> 01:08:15.389 get is being very grateful that God will one 01:08:15.389 --> 01:08:18.670 day change their ropes. Being very grateful that 01:08:18.670 --> 01:08:20.869 God plucked them from the fire and that they're 01:08:20.869 --> 01:08:23.689 at least not going to hell. Instead of truly 01:08:23.689 --> 01:08:26.050 living for the Lord, figuring out what it is 01:08:26.050 --> 01:08:27.970 that God wants them to do and just doing that, 01:08:28.069 --> 01:08:29.750 making that their highest priority. I know a 01:08:29.750 --> 01:08:31.770 lot of people that do a lot of things for God. 01:08:33.039 --> 01:08:35.119 And if I was to write that sentence out in front 01:08:35.119 --> 01:08:37.079 of you, a lot of things for God, I would write 01:08:37.079 --> 01:08:39.479 a lot of things all in caps and maybe like 50 01:08:39.479 --> 01:08:42.000 -point font and the for God in like two -point 01:08:42.000 --> 01:08:45.520 font with the smallest pen I could find. And 01:08:45.520 --> 01:08:47.319 that is not how God has called us to live our 01:08:47.319 --> 01:08:50.300 lives. God has called us to live our lives to 01:08:50.300 --> 01:08:53.460 write the for God in 50 -point font and a lot 01:08:53.460 --> 01:08:55.600 of things in two -point font that you can barely 01:08:55.600 --> 01:09:02.460 see. There are a lot of marathon runners in the 01:09:02.460 --> 01:09:05.659 world. They train all year round to run in a 01:09:05.659 --> 01:09:08.500 marathon. What would you say a good marathon 01:09:08.500 --> 01:09:11.939 runner is? Ricky, what would you say a good marathon 01:09:11.939 --> 01:09:15.079 runner is? Somebody who's good at marathon running. 01:09:15.680 --> 01:09:20.720 A person? Yeah, a person. If you talk with them 01:09:20.720 --> 01:09:23.220 and they say, I train to run marathons, what 01:09:23.220 --> 01:09:24.539 would be the next thing they would have to say 01:09:24.539 --> 01:09:25.840 in order for you to say, well, you must be a 01:09:25.840 --> 01:09:30.119 pretty good marathon runner? Okay, so they got 01:09:30.119 --> 01:09:32.300 to train all the time, right? So they say, I 01:09:32.300 --> 01:09:33.720 train all the time. That would be the next thing 01:09:33.720 --> 01:09:36.619 they'd have to say. What if they said, well, 01:09:36.640 --> 01:09:38.239 I've never run a marathon. Would that be a good 01:09:38.239 --> 01:09:40.779 marathon runner? No. So you say, well, you're 01:09:40.779 --> 01:09:43.140 a runner, but you're not technically a marathon 01:09:43.140 --> 01:09:44.840 runner because you've never run a marathon. Say, 01:09:44.899 --> 01:09:46.840 well, I ran seven marathons. Would that make 01:09:46.840 --> 01:09:49.619 them a good marathon runner? Pretty good, right? 01:09:49.680 --> 01:09:51.500 Because they ran seven marathons. Now you'd be 01:09:51.500 --> 01:09:54.880 assuming they finished the marathons, right? 01:09:55.000 --> 01:09:56.399 Because I can go out and run about a quarter 01:09:56.399 --> 01:09:58.399 mile. And I can sign up for a marathon, run the 01:09:58.399 --> 01:09:59.640 first quarter mile, and then just kind of step 01:09:59.640 --> 01:10:02.039 off and sit in the shade and sip lemonade and 01:10:02.039 --> 01:10:03.699 call myself a marathon runner, but I only ran 01:10:03.699 --> 01:10:06.539 a quarter mile, not 26. But you'd be assuming. 01:10:06.619 --> 01:10:08.840 So assuming they've run seven marathons and they've 01:10:08.840 --> 01:10:10.380 finished them, is that a good marathon runner? 01:10:11.260 --> 01:10:13.680 Heck yeah. That identifies them as a marathon 01:10:13.680 --> 01:10:16.720 runner. Now what if they came in 24 hours or 01:10:16.720 --> 01:10:20.060 more after the person who finished first? Are 01:10:20.060 --> 01:10:22.020 they a good marathon runner? They did it seven 01:10:22.020 --> 01:10:26.460 times. It's kind of getting a little lame. But 01:10:26.460 --> 01:10:28.119 it's still a good marathon. They still did it, 01:10:28.180 --> 01:10:31.600 right? That's more than I ever did. They still 01:10:31.600 --> 01:10:34.420 went 26 miles in two days or whatever, three 01:10:34.420 --> 01:10:36.600 days, whatever it took them, which I've never 01:10:36.600 --> 01:10:39.760 done, right? So it's something. But what if they 01:10:39.760 --> 01:10:41.760 said they finish in the top 10 most times they 01:10:41.760 --> 01:10:45.760 race? Now that's a good, that's a great marathon 01:10:45.760 --> 01:10:48.159 runner, right? What if they said I raised seven 01:10:48.159 --> 01:10:50.479 marathons last year and I was first every time? 01:10:51.199 --> 01:10:53.779 Man, now that's a marathon runner. That's somebody 01:10:53.779 --> 01:10:56.579 who's really doing what it is. That they say 01:10:56.579 --> 01:11:02.699 they are. We know. We know. There's no kidding 01:11:02.699 --> 01:11:05.479 ourselves. You know sitting right here right 01:11:05.479 --> 01:11:06.979 now. And I'm not saying you should judge yourself. 01:11:07.079 --> 01:11:08.880 Don't be judgmental. Don't be critical. Don't 01:11:08.880 --> 01:11:10.539 get down on yourself. Don't play Satan's role. 01:11:10.619 --> 01:11:11.899 We talked about that last week. Don't take his 01:11:11.899 --> 01:11:17.140 role. But you know when God says if. If yes or 01:11:17.140 --> 01:11:24.060 if no. The Bible says study his word. You know 01:11:24.060 --> 01:11:25.380 whether you've picked up a Bible in the last 01:11:25.380 --> 01:11:28.180 seven days, electronic or paper, whether you've 01:11:28.180 --> 01:11:31.520 listened to it online. You know whether you're 01:11:31.520 --> 01:11:33.899 focused on the things of God or whether the things 01:11:33.899 --> 01:11:36.340 of God just kind of authorize you and make you 01:11:36.340 --> 01:11:38.020 feel good and you're glad you're going to heaven 01:11:38.020 --> 01:11:40.420 and you feel His Holy Spirit kind of comforting 01:11:40.420 --> 01:11:42.359 you at dark times in your life and things like 01:11:42.359 --> 01:11:44.340 that. You know whether that's your Christianity 01:11:44.340 --> 01:11:46.199 or whether you're getting up out of bed in the 01:11:46.199 --> 01:11:47.479 morning going, man, I'm going to live for Jesus 01:11:47.479 --> 01:11:48.779 today. Let's see how we're going to do this. 01:11:49.119 --> 01:11:51.710 Come on, God. And some of it you already know 01:11:51.710 --> 01:11:53.189 because you've been praying and you've been asking 01:11:53.189 --> 01:11:54.390 God, okay God, what is it you want me to do? 01:11:54.430 --> 01:11:56.250 And now God said, I want you to do this. And 01:11:56.250 --> 01:11:57.689 you know that when you get out of bed tomorrow 01:11:57.689 --> 01:11:59.810 morning, somehow or other, that's what you're 01:11:59.810 --> 01:12:03.010 going to be doing. So now you're starting to 01:12:03.010 --> 01:12:04.970 live the if that God is talking about because 01:12:04.970 --> 01:12:09.430 you're running the courts, or running the house, 01:12:09.630 --> 01:12:13.069 and in charge of the courts. Right? Which is 01:12:13.069 --> 01:12:16.930 what God asked. And guess what God will do? When 01:12:16.930 --> 01:12:18.449 that is so, according to what Scripture says, 01:12:18.489 --> 01:12:22.520 what will He do? He will give you access to the 01:12:22.520 --> 01:12:30.699 throne room of God. It's not just about a reward 01:12:30.699 --> 01:12:39.279 eternal, church. Your life, ultimately, will 01:12:39.279 --> 01:12:41.140 be about whether or not you accepted Jesus Christ 01:12:41.140 --> 01:12:42.739 as your Lord and Savior because that's what's 01:12:42.739 --> 01:12:47.560 going to put you in heaven or not. But this day 01:12:47.560 --> 01:12:50.529 of your life, will be about having accepted Jesus 01:12:50.529 --> 01:12:56.050 Christ as Lord and Savior, did you do today what 01:12:56.050 --> 01:13:00.670 it was you knew to do today, governing His house 01:13:00.670 --> 01:13:11.170 in charge of His courts? The chief, most clearest 01:13:11.170 --> 01:13:16.390 charge that there is, the church doesn't do very 01:13:16.390 --> 01:13:21.489 well with. And it is this, Jesus wrote, or Jesus 01:13:21.489 --> 01:13:24.670 said, Matthew recorded it this way, and Jesus 01:13:24.670 --> 01:13:27.590 came and spoke to them saying, all authority 01:13:27.590 --> 01:13:30.010 has been given to me in heaven. I want you to 01:13:30.010 --> 01:13:33.090 just listen to the words closely. All authority, 01:13:33.270 --> 01:13:35.409 Jesus said, all authority has been given to me 01:13:35.409 --> 01:13:38.810 in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, in other 01:13:38.810 --> 01:13:40.729 words, because that is true, because I have all 01:13:40.729 --> 01:13:43.470 authority on heaven and earth, go therefore and 01:13:43.470 --> 01:13:46.850 make disciples of all nations. In other words, 01:13:47.159 --> 01:13:49.220 Teach them to follow Jesus. Show them that they 01:13:49.220 --> 01:13:52.359 need to follow Jesus. Introduce them to Jesus 01:13:52.359 --> 01:13:56.279 so that they can be His disciples. Of all nations, 01:13:56.359 --> 01:13:59.699 all people, color, race, creed, financial situations, 01:13:59.960 --> 01:14:07.020 age, etc. All nations. Baptizing them in the 01:14:07.020 --> 01:14:09.560 name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 01:14:10.399 --> 01:14:13.439 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded 01:14:13.439 --> 01:14:22.850 you. And lo, Ever know how it ends? I am with 01:14:22.850 --> 01:14:27.189 you always, even to the end of the age. Access, 01:14:27.270 --> 01:14:32.909 baby. Access to the throne room of God. Get out 01:14:32.909 --> 01:14:34.649 of bed in the morning and decide to do what it 01:14:34.649 --> 01:14:36.289 is that God wants you to do and chief amongst 01:14:36.289 --> 01:14:38.130 that with the last words, essentially command 01:14:38.130 --> 01:14:41.909 or charge of Jesus. Remember I mentioned to you 01:14:41.909 --> 01:14:44.390 that that verse or that phrase from Zechariah 01:14:44.390 --> 01:14:46.970 3 also meant to do the religious things of God. 01:14:47.130 --> 01:14:48.729 You know what the religious things of God are? 01:14:48.930 --> 01:14:52.149 Tell people about Jesus. Period. It stops there. 01:14:52.829 --> 01:14:54.729 The spiritual disciplines that will help you 01:14:54.729 --> 01:14:56.850 know God better. The things that God has called 01:14:56.850 --> 01:14:59.090 us to relate to Him. The ways to relate to Him 01:14:59.090 --> 01:15:01.250 like reading your Bible and praying and worshiping 01:15:01.250 --> 01:15:03.869 and giving and serving. And the list goes on. 01:15:04.359 --> 01:15:07.119 All of those things, they are activities in which 01:15:07.119 --> 01:15:09.800 you should institute inside yourself and in the 01:15:09.800 --> 01:15:12.300 courts all around you. Men, start a stinking 01:15:12.300 --> 01:15:14.060 devotional in your house. If you're the only 01:15:14.060 --> 01:15:16.079 one that does it, then you do it. Sit down with 01:15:16.079 --> 01:15:17.899 your Bible every day. Let your wife and your 01:15:17.899 --> 01:15:20.659 kids see that the most important thing to you 01:15:20.659 --> 01:15:24.020 is, or your cats or your dogs or whatever, but 01:15:24.020 --> 01:15:25.760 let them see that the most important thing to 01:15:25.760 --> 01:15:29.149 you is what God... wants of you. And if you let 01:15:29.149 --> 01:15:31.409 it be the most important thing, more important 01:15:31.409 --> 01:15:33.229 than the way you entertain yourself, more important 01:15:33.229 --> 01:15:35.489 than the way you prepare yourself, more important 01:15:35.489 --> 01:15:37.529 than the way you feed yourself physically, more 01:15:37.529 --> 01:15:39.470 important than the way you comfort yourself emotionally, 01:15:39.729 --> 01:15:41.729 if you will make it the most important thing 01:15:41.729 --> 01:15:44.810 of all, then God promises you nothing less but 01:15:44.810 --> 01:15:49.569 access to the throne room of God. More often 01:15:49.569 --> 01:15:53.289 than not, we don't have it. And we don't have 01:15:53.289 --> 01:15:55.430 it because we didn't get out of bed today saying, 01:15:55.510 --> 01:15:59.460 I'm going to I know I've got this job to do. 01:15:59.539 --> 01:16:01.899 I've got to be here on time. I've got to clean 01:16:01.899 --> 01:16:04.220 this up. I've got to fix this. I've got to do 01:16:04.220 --> 01:16:05.699 whatever. I know what I have to do. I've got 01:16:05.699 --> 01:16:07.199 to get out of bed and go to work. Let's say 8 01:16:07.199 --> 01:16:08.560 a .m. Or I've got to get out of bed and start 01:16:08.560 --> 01:16:10.420 doing what I've got to do at noon or whatever. 01:16:10.680 --> 01:16:11.939 And we're going to bed at night and we're thinking 01:16:11.939 --> 01:16:13.979 about that. And that's not thinking about what 01:16:13.979 --> 01:16:19.420 God wants you to do. There is a difference. Where 01:16:19.420 --> 01:16:23.020 is the Word? Where is listening to God? Where 01:16:23.020 --> 01:16:27.069 is coming together in service? In the charge 01:16:27.069 --> 01:16:29.949 of the church activities, which is to share with 01:16:29.949 --> 01:16:33.510 everybody the love of Jesus. Oh, but there were 01:16:33.510 --> 01:16:35.649 prudent men and women who knew that that's what 01:16:35.649 --> 01:16:37.170 they were supposed to be doing, but they didn't 01:16:37.170 --> 01:16:41.630 want to do it. They found another reason not 01:16:41.630 --> 01:16:44.930 to answer the if call because there was so much 01:16:44.930 --> 01:16:47.109 evil going on around them. There were people 01:16:47.109 --> 01:16:48.470 in their household that didn't want to hear it. 01:16:48.510 --> 01:16:50.010 People on their street that didn't want to hear 01:16:50.010 --> 01:16:51.430 it because they were afraid of being attacked 01:16:51.430 --> 01:16:55.829 on social media or whatever. So they kept quiet. 01:16:57.090 --> 01:17:00.550 And in keeping quiet, they lost access to the 01:17:00.550 --> 01:17:07.270 throne room of God. We mustn't. We must not do 01:17:07.270 --> 01:17:13.810 that. God says, if you will govern my house, 01:17:13.970 --> 01:17:17.390 if you will take charge of my courts, I will 01:17:17.390 --> 01:17:21.340 give you access to... The throne room right here 01:17:21.340 --> 01:17:27.159 where God is, where the angels of God are, and 01:17:27.159 --> 01:17:31.420 where Satan is. And you are greater than he is 01:17:31.420 --> 01:17:35.500 when you have the ear of the God of the universe. 01:17:37.159 --> 01:17:42.140 It's time, folks. In case you didn't like Jesus 01:17:42.140 --> 01:17:44.359 saying it, Paul also wrote, and he's not the 01:17:44.359 --> 01:17:48.590 only one. It's all over the New Testament. We 01:17:48.590 --> 01:17:50.289 have now been given the ministry of reconciliation 01:17:50.289 --> 01:17:55.010 to bring peace between man and God. Those who 01:17:55.010 --> 01:17:57.050 just prayed to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and 01:17:57.050 --> 01:17:59.090 Savior a few moments ago are destined for heaven 01:17:59.090 --> 01:18:05.310 now. Now whether or not they take on the tasks 01:18:05.310 --> 01:18:08.689 that God has given them in this lifetime, that 01:18:08.689 --> 01:18:12.449 will be up to them. But when and if they do, 01:18:12.609 --> 01:18:15.430 God will give them access to the throne room 01:18:15.430 --> 01:18:22.119 of God. You could sum it up this way. You must 01:18:22.119 --> 01:18:24.979 do you. You're different than me. I'm different 01:18:24.979 --> 01:18:30.779 than you. Each of us must do this. Govern this 01:18:30.779 --> 01:18:36.399 house of the Lord. And then take charge of the 01:18:36.399 --> 01:18:40.899 courts, the areas around the house. You do you 01:18:40.899 --> 01:18:44.039 as the Lord has made you and is remaking you. 01:18:45.840 --> 01:18:51.369 But do this as well. Share the gospel. Make disciples. 01:18:52.289 --> 01:18:55.449 Lead people to Christ. And if you won't, and 01:18:55.449 --> 01:18:59.569 if you don't, you may still be saved. If you 01:18:59.569 --> 01:19:01.250 are saved now, you will still be saved. You will 01:19:01.250 --> 01:19:04.470 not lose your salvation. But you will lose your 01:19:04.470 --> 01:19:07.109 access to the throne room of God, as Israel did. 01:19:08.930 --> 01:19:12.850 There it is. Won't you covenant with us to take 01:19:12.850 --> 01:19:16.819 charge, to govern? the house of God, which is 01:19:16.819 --> 01:19:19.560 us, our physical bodies, our walking personalities, 01:19:19.939 --> 01:19:24.000 and then also the courts around us as we do the 01:19:24.000 --> 01:19:25.659 ministry of the Lord and we answer the charge 01:19:25.659 --> 01:19:28.960 of the Lord to lead people to Him, to represent 01:19:28.960 --> 01:19:32.199 Him well in the world. Obviously, you know in 01:19:32.199 --> 01:19:34.600 your heart of hearts what your answer to the 01:19:34.600 --> 01:19:38.020 question if is. This has been New Heights Fellowship 01:19:38.020 --> 01:19:40.039 Baptist Church of East Toledo. You can check 01:19:40.039 --> 01:19:44.000 us out online at churchtoledo .com. You can text 01:19:44.000 --> 01:19:50.460 G -I -V -E to 419 -419 -0095, that is, 419 -419 01:19:50.460 --> 01:19:54.039 -0095, in order to be able to give financially 01:19:54.039 --> 01:19:57.140 to the ministry. If you'd like to come and partner 01:19:57.140 --> 01:19:59.840 with us in any of a variety of ways to get the 01:19:59.840 --> 01:20:02.479 gospel out, we would be very blessed to do that. 01:20:02.600 --> 01:20:04.159 You're welcome to join us at Sunday service, 01:20:04.359 --> 01:20:06.439 Tuesday night Bible study. We've got PBS through 01:20:06.439 --> 01:20:09.020 the month of June, every Tuesday night in the 01:20:09.020 --> 01:20:12.039 month of June. with a special challenge for the 01:20:12.039 --> 01:20:14.000 children that if they memorize all of the Bible 01:20:14.000 --> 01:20:16.760 verses for the month that they get to dump concrete 01:20:16.760 --> 01:20:20.039 on the game guy, Mr. Michael. So we're pretty 01:20:20.039 --> 01:20:22.060 excited about all that's going on in the ministry. 01:20:22.300 --> 01:20:24.899 I ask you to come and join us. Pray for those 01:20:24.899 --> 01:20:26.640 who have made decisions to follow the Lord in 01:20:26.640 --> 01:20:28.180 a specific way in the ministry that they'll have 01:20:28.180 --> 01:20:30.220 strength and the wisdom of the Lord and guidance. 01:20:31.739 --> 01:20:34.239 If you'd be willing to be a prayer warrior or 01:20:34.239 --> 01:20:36.560 any other kind of partner, you can text B -A 01:20:36.560 --> 01:20:39.850 -R -T -N -E -R. to that same phone number, 419 01:20:39.850 --> 01:20:43.609 -419 -0095, and then we will reach out to you 01:20:43.609 --> 01:20:45.529 with occasional updates, things you can pray 01:20:45.529 --> 01:20:46.949 about, and other ways you might get involved. 01:20:48.710 --> 01:20:50.550 Thank you so much for choosing the New Heights 01:20:50.550 --> 01:20:53.609 Fellowship Baptist Church podcast, and we ask 01:20:53.609 --> 01:20:55.890 you to reach new heights in Jesus right where 01:20:55.890 --> 01:20:56.229 you are.