WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.339 Revelation chapter 21, if you'd turn there with 00:00:03.339 --> 00:00:08.140 me. Revelation chapter 21. And I want to read, 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:11.820 I want to just start by reading one verse. Revelation 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:19.660 21. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Verse 5. 00:00:22.460 --> 00:00:32.750 Then he who sat on the throne said, behold, I 00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:42.850 make all things new. I want to say that again 00:00:42.850 --> 00:00:50.850 because it felt so good. Behold, I make all things 00:00:50.850 --> 00:01:01.810 new. And he said to me, Right. For these words 00:01:01.810 --> 00:01:11.010 are true and faithful. Hallelujah. I feel the 00:01:11.010 --> 00:01:14.230 anointing on the Word of God this morning. The 00:01:14.230 --> 00:01:18.430 anointing is already on His Word. And we tap 00:01:18.430 --> 00:01:24.090 into that. And we say, thank you, Lord, for causing 00:01:24.090 --> 00:01:28.239 Your Word to change us. And affect us today. 00:01:28.959 --> 00:01:33.939 Praise God. Those of you that have given yourself 00:01:33.939 --> 00:01:38.099 to construction. Understand that there are some 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:43.540 things that you can fix up. There are some things 00:01:43.540 --> 00:01:49.719 that you can clean it. And you can put a nail 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:53.519 in it. And you can paint it. And it's good to 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:56.560 go. There are some things that are like that. 00:01:57.579 --> 00:02:00.439 And then there are other things in construction 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:05.219 that you come across. Maybe you pull a board 00:02:05.219 --> 00:02:08.080 away and you realize, oh, that faucet's been 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:14.139 leaking there for a year. And the damage is so 00:02:14.139 --> 00:02:20.240 extensive that it cannot be repaired. It has 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:27.740 to be replaced. It cannot just be fixed up. It 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:34.000 cannot just be reformed. It has to be transformed. 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:41.919 You have to remove that which was old. And can 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:45.259 I just say this? Not everything old is damaged 00:02:45.259 --> 00:02:49.219 and needs to be removed just because it's old, 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:51.840 right? But there are some things that are old 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:57.120 and damaged. And the damaged needs to be taken 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:01.939 out. The old has to be taken out so that the 00:03:01.939 --> 00:03:07.419 new can be put in. And there are some jobs in 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:09.539 your house you're thinking of right now where 00:03:09.539 --> 00:03:13.379 you know that that's what has to happen. And 00:03:13.379 --> 00:03:18.319 you wish that it would just go away. But for 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:22.129 the new to come, guess what has to happen? The 00:03:22.129 --> 00:03:30.949 old has to be done away with. God is not always 00:03:30.949 --> 00:03:40.310 trying to reform you. If I can just find a better 00:03:40.310 --> 00:03:45.629 version of this right here. There are things 00:03:45.629 --> 00:03:49.729 in our lives that God is not trying to reform. 00:03:50.590 --> 00:03:55.009 He's trying to transform. He's trying to take 00:03:55.009 --> 00:04:02.729 the old out and put something brand new in. That's 00:04:02.729 --> 00:04:06.909 what he does. Now this passage in Revelation, 00:04:07.310 --> 00:04:10.969 the Lord is speaking about the very end of times. 00:04:11.110 --> 00:04:14.250 He's talking about the end of our faith. And 00:04:14.250 --> 00:04:16.750 let's just talk about that for a moment. He's 00:04:16.750 --> 00:04:21.040 talking about heaven. And the great mystery of 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:25.519 Revelation is this, that the earth will eventually 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:30.620 get tired out. Did you know that? The earth will 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:35.019 eventually get worn out. Now, I am not an advocate 00:04:35.019 --> 00:04:37.879 that says, well, then let's just treat it any 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:40.300 old way we want. I believe that we have to take 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:42.519 care of what God's given to us, whether it's 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:44.879 our little corner of the earth or the earth in 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:47.779 general. I believe we've got to take care and 00:04:47.779 --> 00:04:51.959 steward that which God has given to us. Amen? 00:04:53.500 --> 00:04:57.339 But one day will come that the earth will wear 00:04:57.339 --> 00:05:00.540 out. In fact, you read the book of Revelation 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:03.959 and the bowl judgments and the trumpet judgments 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:07.620 and all of those things will be poured out on 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:10.819 the earth. The earth will be filled with plagues 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:13.420 and earthquakes. And guess what's going to happen 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:16.639 through those end times? The earth is going to 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:23.139 get torn apart because of judgment. And that's 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:28.040 what is happening. And right before he says this, 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:32.800 before, behold, I make all things new, he speaks 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:36.860 of a heaven where there are no more tears, where 00:05:36.860 --> 00:05:40.439 there is no more sorrow, where there is no more 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:46.439 struggle. Everything becomes brand new. Hallelujah. 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:52.569 The old is gone. The new has come. Around these 00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:56.149 verses, in the beginning, you can go back to 00:05:56.149 --> 00:05:59.050 chapter 19, but even in the beginning of this 00:05:59.050 --> 00:06:03.269 chapter, you can see Jesus talking about his 00:06:03.269 --> 00:06:09.970 bride, the church. Jesus is waiting for his wedding 00:06:09.970 --> 00:06:15.589 day. And this that you see right now, you look 00:06:15.589 --> 00:06:20.509 around and say, this is one tiny expression of 00:06:20.509 --> 00:06:23.569 the kingdom of God. This is faith church, one 00:06:23.569 --> 00:06:29.149 tiny expression of the kingdom at large, and 00:06:29.149 --> 00:06:35.089 yet we are part of the bride of Christ. And there 00:06:35.089 --> 00:06:39.089 is a wedding day that is coming. Do you know 00:06:39.089 --> 00:06:44.629 why God is very particular about marriage? Because 00:06:44.629 --> 00:06:49.470 your marriage is a reflection, or it's supposed 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:55.310 to be, a reflection of the bride of Christ and 00:06:55.310 --> 00:06:59.910 Jesus. It's why marriage and everything that 00:06:59.910 --> 00:07:05.110 surrounds it, God calls it to be holy. because 00:07:05.110 --> 00:07:11.610 it is a reflection of Jesus and his bride. Hallelujah. 00:07:11.689 --> 00:07:14.670 That was not in my notes, but I feel the Lord 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:19.769 speaking in that. And part of the newness that 00:07:19.769 --> 00:07:23.370 is coming in the end times is that the bride 00:07:23.370 --> 00:07:27.529 of Christ will be fully united, not just in part. 00:07:27.980 --> 00:07:31.120 You know, in this time period that we live in, 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:34.740 we see in part, 1 Corinthians 13 says, we look 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:39.319 through a glass dimly, and we just can barely 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:43.800 see, but then we shall see face to face, and 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:46.459 we shall know him fully, even as we are fully 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:49.870 known. Are you looking forward to that day? He 00:07:49.870 --> 00:07:54.910 breathes on his people, behold, I make all things 00:07:54.910 --> 00:07:58.850 new. And I want to encourage you, even as Paul 00:07:58.850 --> 00:08:02.329 encouraged the people, the trumpet is going to 00:08:02.329 --> 00:08:05.410 sound, Jesus is going to come back, and this 00:08:05.410 --> 00:08:07.949 whole thing is going to get wrapped up. Hallelujah. 00:08:08.970 --> 00:08:12.250 Keep your eyes on the prize. Keep your eyes on 00:08:12.250 --> 00:08:15.490 heaven. Lift it above all this stuff that's temporary. 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:18.620 And we're looking forward to that day. But I 00:08:18.620 --> 00:08:22.500 want to declare some good news to you. That God, 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:25.800 who is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore, 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:32.559 has always and will always be in the business 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:42.440 of making things new. It's what He does. The 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:49.960 earth. Was without form and void and the spirit 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:54.820 of God hovered over the waters. He was then in 00:08:54.820 --> 00:09:00.320 the business of making all things new. Can you 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:04.720 even imagine it? When he spoke into nothingness 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:12.700 and he said, let there be light. Before there 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:17.289 was sun, before there was moon. There was light. 00:09:20.929 --> 00:09:24.990 God saw that it was good and there was evening 00:09:24.990 --> 00:09:28.610 and morning the first day. And he began to speak 00:09:28.610 --> 00:09:33.210 and creation burst forth in wonder and majesty. 00:09:34.090 --> 00:09:38.409 And that which was chaotic and without form took 00:09:38.409 --> 00:09:47.250 form. Why? Because God makes all things. I preached 00:09:47.250 --> 00:09:51.190 last week about the heavens opening up from Genesis 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:54.490 7, and I believe that this is going to be a year 00:09:54.490 --> 00:09:58.889 where the heavens open up. Hallelujah. But what 00:09:58.889 --> 00:10:02.590 happened in Genesis 7, verse 11, when the heavens 00:10:02.590 --> 00:10:05.830 opened up and rain flooded the earth, even the 00:10:05.830 --> 00:10:08.789 tops of the tallest mountains were covered with 00:10:08.789 --> 00:10:12.720 water? What was happening to the earth? The earth 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.600 had become corrupt, and the Bible says that man, 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:18.980 every inclination of his heart was evil all the 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:22.440 time, except in one family, and that family was 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:26.799 Noah. And what was God doing when he flooded 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:32.399 the earth? He was removing that which was old 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:43.389 and bringing in that which is new. and bringing 00:10:43.389 --> 00:10:50.730 the earth into a place of newness of life. The 00:10:50.730 --> 00:10:57.710 old was washed away, and the new came. Because 00:10:57.710 --> 00:11:02.929 for the new to come, the old has to be done away 00:11:02.929 --> 00:11:11.279 with. It was not just an Egyptian army. When 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:15.080 Moses had led the Israelites across the Red Sea 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:19.419 and then the Egyptians followed and the waters 00:11:19.419 --> 00:11:24.220 went in over the Egyptian army. It was not just 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:28.240 the Egyptian army that God was cleansing. God 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:35.120 was washing away the old life of the Israelites. 00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:40.960 It was that army that was the administers. of 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:46.100 the slavery of the Israelites. And that baptism 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:51.179 in water got rid of all their slavery as they 00:11:51.179 --> 00:11:56.679 came into the land of freedom. The washing of 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:04.519 something new. And you that have been baptized 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:09.039 into Christ, you have... gone through the waters 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:14.480 of baptism, you have entered in to the newness 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:19.940 of God. In Romans chapter 6, it says this concerning 00:12:19.940 --> 00:12:23.860 baptism. Therefore, we were buried with Christ 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:29.259 through baptism into death, that just as Christ 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:33.500 was raised from the dead by the glory of the 00:12:33.500 --> 00:12:38.929 Father, even so we should walk in newness of 00:12:38.929 --> 00:12:43.990 life. Hallelujah. What is happening in your life? 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:47.309 Is God just coming along and just making your 00:12:47.309 --> 00:12:55.570 life a little better? No. No. He's washing away 00:12:55.570 --> 00:12:59.909 the old and putting something brand new in your 00:12:59.909 --> 00:13:04.350 life. Hallelujah. That's good news. That's good 00:13:04.350 --> 00:13:06.490 news. Somebody ought to get happy about that. 00:13:06.649 --> 00:13:10.309 You've been baptized into Christ. You've been 00:13:10.309 --> 00:13:15.610 baptized into newness of life. It's no wonder 00:13:15.610 --> 00:13:21.409 that the process of repentance requires cleansing. 00:13:23.169 --> 00:13:27.870 The process of repentance involves the character 00:13:27.870 --> 00:13:34.120 of God That breathes newness into people. You 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:39.440 remember David and his great sin. His great falling 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:44.840 away. Having Uriah killed. Having taken Uriah's 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:54.600 wife. And after nine months of hardness of heart. 00:13:55.340 --> 00:14:00.960 And backsliding. And turning away from God, the 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:05.179 prophet Nathan came and confronted him with his 00:14:05.179 --> 00:14:11.039 sin. Not knowing if he would be killed too like 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:17.500 Uriah, but David softened his heart. And he wrote 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:25.480 Psalm 51. And he said this in verse 7. Purge 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:35.299 me. With hyssop. And I shall be clean. Wash me. 00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:47.019 And I shall be whiter than snow. David had lost 00:14:47.019 --> 00:14:54.080 his joy. He had lost his way. He had lost his 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:58.950 sense of righteousness. He was not hearing from 00:14:58.950 --> 00:15:03.809 God. He had done that which is evil before the 00:15:03.809 --> 00:15:12.750 Lord. He needed to be cleansed. He needed the 00:15:12.750 --> 00:15:18.830 old to be washed away. And he needed the new 00:15:18.830 --> 00:15:21.529 to come. And he prayed this beautiful prayer. 00:15:22.509 --> 00:15:30.169 Wash me. And I will be whiter than snow. Cleanse 00:15:30.169 --> 00:15:35.990 me with hyssop. You know what hyssop is? Hyssop 00:15:35.990 --> 00:15:40.850 is the plant that the priests dipped into the 00:15:40.850 --> 00:15:44.649 blood and sprinkled on the ones that offered 00:15:44.649 --> 00:15:48.830 the sacrifice. Hyssop was the plant when the 00:15:48.830 --> 00:15:53.110 Israelites were in Egypt before they left and 00:15:53.110 --> 00:15:57.230 God had instructed them to put blood on the doorposts 00:15:57.230 --> 00:16:00.370 of their houses so that the death angel would 00:16:00.370 --> 00:16:04.490 see the blood and pass over them. It was the 00:16:04.490 --> 00:16:08.769 hyssop plant that they used when they dipped 00:16:08.769 --> 00:16:12.450 it in the blood of that lamb and painted it on 00:16:12.450 --> 00:16:17.379 the doorposts of their homes. And David says, 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:23.620 wash me with hyssop. And what he's saying is, 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:27.700 if you will cleanse me in the blood of the sacrifice, 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:36.740 I'll be clean. I'll be transformed. I'll experience 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:44.610 the newness of God in my life. David didn't know 00:16:44.610 --> 00:16:46.830 it, but he was prophetically looking ahead to 00:16:46.830 --> 00:16:50.309 the cross when Jesus would shed his blood on 00:16:50.309 --> 00:16:56.509 Calvary. And that you and I, God doesn't use 00:16:56.509 --> 00:17:00.970 a hyssop plant in the physical. But when you 00:17:00.970 --> 00:17:04.490 come to the cross, do you know what the Father 00:17:04.490 --> 00:17:07.750 does? When you come to the cross with all of 00:17:07.750 --> 00:17:09.869 your junk, with all of your sin, with all of 00:17:09.869 --> 00:17:15.640 your failure, with all of your garbage, He applies 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:22.619 the blood of the cross to your heart. And 1 John 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:26.240 1 .9 says, as we confess our sins, He's faithful 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:32.660 and just to cleanse us from our sin and to get 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:37.440 all unrighteousness out of our lives. That's 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:44.480 the newness of God. Praise the Lord. When a leper 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:48.599 was cleansed, you can read about it in Leviticus 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:53.940 14, they would dip the blood in the hyssop plant, 00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:57.880 and over that leper they would sprinkle the blood. 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:03.480 Maybe you've never had leprosy in the physical, 00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:07.220 but how many of you would identify with the leprosy 00:18:07.220 --> 00:18:13.009 of sin and the leprosy of the heart? Our God 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:20.109 specializes in making everything new. Praise 00:18:20.109 --> 00:18:24.089 God. That's why Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5 00:18:24.089 --> 00:18:29.569 .17, He who is in Christ Jesus is a new creation. 00:18:30.230 --> 00:18:37.430 The old has gone and the new has come. Because 00:18:37.430 --> 00:18:43.250 our God specializes in making all things. Did 00:18:43.250 --> 00:18:48.529 you know that God does things new on a daily 00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:53.750 basis? Do you know He makes things new on a daily 00:18:53.750 --> 00:18:59.849 basis? Lamentations chapter 3. Now, Jeremiah 00:18:59.849 --> 00:19:05.440 was called the weeping prophet. Because God kept 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.920 speaking to him, and he kept relaying the message, 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:11.220 but nobody ever listened to him. And great sorrow 00:19:11.220 --> 00:19:14.160 filled his heart, and he would weep and weep 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:17.420 and weep over his nation. Because he had such 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:21.720 a burden for them to walk in right relationship 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:26.539 with God. But they would never listen. Until 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:29.839 generations later listened to him, but his generation 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:34.710 did not. But he wrote this in Lamentations chapter 00:19:34.710 --> 00:19:40.990 3. He said in verse 21, this I recall to my mind, 00:19:41.029 --> 00:19:46.990 therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies, 00:19:46.990 --> 00:19:52.829 we are not consumed. Because his compassions 00:19:52.829 --> 00:20:01.900 fail not. They are new every morning. Great is 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:08.579 your faithfulness. Hallelujah. Now, as I consider 00:20:08.579 --> 00:20:10.720 the earth and what we know about the earth that 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:14.099 maybe they didn't know back then, is that it 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:17.619 is always morning somewhere, isn't it? The sun 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:21.059 is always rising somewhere on our planet, and 00:20:21.059 --> 00:20:23.279 it is always setting somewhere on our planet. 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:27.819 But wherever the sun is rising on our planet, 00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:33.259 the mercies of the Lord and His compassions are 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:38.480 renewed. Hallelujah. It means this, that there 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:43.940 is always more. Look at the person next to you 00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:47.779 and say, there is mercy for you. Hallelujah. 00:20:48.180 --> 00:20:53.380 There is mercy for you. Because the mercy and 00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:58.740 the compassion of God rises with the Son. And 00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:02.460 so the earth is constantly being renewed in the 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:05.759 mercy and the compassion of God. It is never 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:10.339 ending. It is never failing. It's why every single 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:14.160 day you can get up and say, God, I thank you 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:17.779 for your mercy in my life, that it's brand new 00:21:17.779 --> 00:21:21.759 this morning, that you don't tire of me. Hallelujah. 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:26.339 One of the greatest things about... being married 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:31.480 to my wife for 32 years, is that she has not 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:38.099 gotten tired of me. Maybe you should ask her 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:48.799 about that. See if she groans. God is not tired 00:21:48.799 --> 00:22:01.839 of you. There is mercy for you. Because God makes 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:10.420 all things new. Paul said it like this. We do 00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:15.240 not lose heart. Our outward man is perishing. 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:21.799 How many of you like getting older? Anybody like 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:34.490 it? I get calls every day from AARP. I'm 52. 00:22:41.670 --> 00:22:47.109 Our outward man is perishing. Yet the inward 00:22:47.109 --> 00:22:58.700 man is being renewed day by day. your inward 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:03.720 man, your spirit man, is not getting older, friends. 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:10.720 It is being renewed as if it were brand new every 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:17.460 single day. Hallelujah. It is being renewed day 00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:20.319 by day. Do you think God does new things? He 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:24.660 absolutely does new things. He is preserving 00:23:24.660 --> 00:23:28.940 you. He is keeping you. He is doing new things 00:23:28.940 --> 00:23:32.299 in your heart and in your life. Now you need 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:35.380 to cooperate with it, friends. You need to cooperate 00:23:35.380 --> 00:23:39.259 with the new things that God is doing. And Colossians 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:44.000 3 verse 10, it says this, we have to put on the 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.579 new man. We have to step in to the new things 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:51.960 that God is doing in our life. And we have to, 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:55.940 in Colossians 3 .10, it says the new man is being 00:23:55.940 --> 00:23:59.720 renewed in knowledge according to the image of 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:04.519 Christ. And so if we're going to put, in fact, 00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:07.980 the verse before in verse 9, it says, put off 00:24:07.980 --> 00:24:12.579 the old man. Put off the old man, Colossians 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:16.670 3 .9. Put off the old man. All the old junk, 00:24:16.930 --> 00:24:20.549 all the old way of living, put it off and put 00:24:20.549 --> 00:24:25.910 on and step in to what God is doing now. Hallelujah. 00:24:26.970 --> 00:24:30.769 Glory to God. Because he makes all things new. 00:24:31.089 --> 00:24:34.829 He speaks that over your life. He makes all things 00:24:34.829 --> 00:24:40.509 new. But you've got to cooperate with it. And 00:24:40.509 --> 00:24:43.920 that means the stuff that you've... Giving yourself 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:47.200 to that you know you can't give yourself to anymore. 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:50.019 You've got to crucify that thing. You've got 00:24:50.019 --> 00:24:52.599 to put it off in Jesus' name. And you've got 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:56.400 to step into the lifestyle, the newness that 00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:03.740 God has for you. Hallelujah. Isaiah 40, 31. They 00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:10.980 that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. 00:25:14.120 --> 00:25:19.180 Praise God. And so God does new things every 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:30.259 single day. God has new things in seasons. Seasons 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:34.160 bring forth that which is new. How many of you 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:39.059 are already ready for spring to come? All your 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:45.890 hands are up. I know it's 50 degrees this week, 00:25:46.029 --> 00:25:48.769 but that's just teasing us. You know that, right? 00:25:49.809 --> 00:25:55.269 It's just like a teaser. Seasons bring forth 00:25:55.269 --> 00:25:58.890 that which is new. It's why I wouldn't trade 00:25:58.890 --> 00:26:01.390 the four seasons. I don't want to live in a place 00:26:01.390 --> 00:26:05.230 where there's not four seasons. I love four seasons 00:26:05.230 --> 00:26:10.410 because there's change, because there's new things 00:26:10.410 --> 00:26:15.940 that come. The passing of the season, one to 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:20.460 another, is refreshing. And there are pros and 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:24.519 cons to all the seasons. But there's something 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:28.099 new that happens in the season. The prophets 00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:30.160 of the Old Testament, sometimes they're hard 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:32.700 to read because they're filled with judgment 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:34.940 and destruction. But do you know what judgment 00:26:34.940 --> 00:26:39.119 and destruction does? It's trying to get rid 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:43.559 of that which is old. And the prophets, you read 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:46.099 the judgment and destruction, but you've got 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:49.680 to read the silver linings also that are there. 00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:53.900 Because the judgment and destruction on all the 00:26:53.900 --> 00:26:57.180 ways that people have walked away from God and 00:26:57.180 --> 00:27:02.480 done the wrong thing are lined with hope. And 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:06.809 one that I... That I often read in Isaiah 43 00:27:06.809 --> 00:27:09.549 at the beginning of the year. And this being 00:27:09.549 --> 00:27:14.569 the first Sunday of 2026. Isaiah 43 verse 16 00:27:14.569 --> 00:27:18.470 says this. Thus says the Lord who makes a way 00:27:18.470 --> 00:27:23.109 in the sea. And a path through the mighty waters. 00:27:23.230 --> 00:27:27.150 Who brings forth the chariot and the horse. This 00:27:27.150 --> 00:27:31.289 is the enemy of Israel. The army and the power. 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:35.640 They shall lie down together. They shall not 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:39.259 rise. They are extinguished. They are quenched 00:27:39.259 --> 00:27:43.460 like a wick. And I believe that 2026 is going 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:49.380 to be a year of battle. It's going to be a year 00:27:49.380 --> 00:27:53.380 of war. You're going to feel it in every aspect 00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:56.140 of life. You're going to feel it in politics. 00:27:56.279 --> 00:28:00.130 You're already feeling it. The election that's 00:28:00.130 --> 00:28:03.670 coming this fall is an expression of the spiritual 00:28:03.670 --> 00:28:08.369 battle that we are in. We've got to pay attention. 00:28:09.829 --> 00:28:13.849 What's happening in the natural. I woke up a 00:28:13.849 --> 00:28:19.210 couple days ago. Maduro had gotten arrested by 00:28:19.210 --> 00:28:23.069 the United States military. That's a phenomenal 00:28:23.069 --> 00:28:26.539 thing that happened. But what is it representative 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:31.420 of? The war that we are in. The war that we are 00:28:31.420 --> 00:28:35.579 in. And it is not just so that we can get more 00:28:35.579 --> 00:28:39.099 oil in Venezuela. The real battle that we are 00:28:39.099 --> 00:28:44.059 in is for the souls of mankind. So that people 00:28:44.059 --> 00:28:47.099 will come into the kingdom. Those other things 00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:50.299 are outward expressions. We are believing for 00:28:50.299 --> 00:28:56.220 many to come to Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. These 00:28:56.220 --> 00:29:01.279 are seasons, shifting of seasons where the new 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:08.920 comes. Daniel was, as a young man, deported into 00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:16.500 Babylon. And as an old man, now in his 80s, he 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:22.779 read in Jeremiah. He read. That this season of 00:29:22.779 --> 00:29:26.880 captivity is only lasting 70 years. Daniel was 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:29.519 one of the people that in the next generation 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:34.000 listened to Jeremiah. And in Daniel chapter 9, 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:38.220 it says this. In the first year of Darius, the 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:44.579 son of Ahasuerus. Let me say that again. In the 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:48.460 first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, the 00:29:48.460 --> 00:29:52.049 lineage of the Medes. who is made king of the 00:29:52.049 --> 00:29:56.230 realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of 00:29:56.230 --> 00:30:01.309 his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books 00:30:01.309 --> 00:30:04.930 the number of the years specified by the word 00:30:04.930 --> 00:30:08.650 of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that 00:30:08.650 --> 00:30:13.529 he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation 00:30:13.529 --> 00:30:18.980 of Jerusalem. Daniel had been in Babylon nearly 00:30:18.980 --> 00:30:26.420 70 years. And he understood by the prophet that 00:30:26.420 --> 00:30:31.019 change was coming. He understood by the prophet 00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:36.980 that a new season was about to be birthed into 00:30:36.980 --> 00:30:42.960 the lives of the Israeli people. He knew that 00:30:43.529 --> 00:30:47.250 That the time prophesied by Jeremiah, in fact, 00:30:47.250 --> 00:30:50.549 you can read about it in Jeremiah 25. Jeremiah 00:30:50.549 --> 00:30:55.009 said, it will be 70 years. And that's what Daniel 00:30:55.009 --> 00:31:00.670 read about. And he knew that the new season was 00:31:00.670 --> 00:31:04.500 coming. And so what did he do? In verse 3 it 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:08.900 says this, Then I set my face toward the Lord 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:13.779 God to make request by prayer and supplication 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:20.059 with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. He knew 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:24.119 the new season was coming. And so what did he 00:31:24.119 --> 00:31:30.259 do? He positioned himself. For the God that makes 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:34.680 all things new to have his way in the nation 00:31:34.680 --> 00:31:40.779 of Israel. Hallelujah. I believe, friends, that 00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:44.480 when we know that God is about to do a new thing, 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:48.619 God is about to birth a new thing, God is about 00:31:48.619 --> 00:31:53.539 to stir a new thing. Hallelujah. What is our 00:31:53.539 --> 00:31:56.339 responsibility? I want to call this house to 00:31:56.339 --> 00:32:00.099 be like Daniel. and to be people that prepare 00:32:00.099 --> 00:32:03.640 themselves for the new things that God wants 00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:08.059 to do. that position themselves for the new things 00:32:08.059 --> 00:32:12.160 that God wants to do. So we've called for a fast. 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:15.819 We've called for prayer. We've called to fix 00:32:15.819 --> 00:32:21.019 our eyes on heaven, to fix our eyes on Jesus. 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:25.279 We're calling the church to the place of prayer, 00:32:25.500 --> 00:32:29.440 to come back to the place of the altar. But why 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:32.079 do we do that? Is it just to do a religious thing? 00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:35.140 Well, all the churches are doing it. No. My friend, 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:40.920 it is to position ourselves for what God is about 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:53.480 to do. Behold, I make all things new. I believe 00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:58.740 that in 2026, that many of you are going to see 00:32:58.740 --> 00:33:04.359 shifting happening in your lives. you've been 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:09.240 waiting for, that you've been believing God for. 00:33:10.940 --> 00:33:15.940 And what ought we to do? We ought to position 00:33:15.940 --> 00:33:21.039 ourselves before the Lord. That's what these 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:25.440 four or five days are for, to position ourselves. 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:30.440 Cammie asked me, do you want to have a theme? 00:33:31.130 --> 00:33:33.769 for each prayer meeting, for each night. I remember 00:33:33.769 --> 00:33:36.390 last year when we did our week of prayer and 00:33:36.390 --> 00:33:40.130 fasting, and we had a different theme each night, 00:33:40.210 --> 00:33:42.269 and we prayed for that different theme, and that's 00:33:42.269 --> 00:33:48.130 fine. But I felt in my heart, no, we're not going 00:33:48.130 --> 00:33:51.130 to have a specific theme this year for each night. 00:33:51.210 --> 00:33:53.450 Do you know what we're going to do? We're going 00:33:53.450 --> 00:33:56.529 to come before the Lord, and we're going to position 00:33:56.529 --> 00:34:01.170 ourselves, and we're going to pray. And we're 00:34:01.170 --> 00:34:04.809 going to seek his face. And we're going to say, 00:34:04.869 --> 00:34:09.090 God, here we are. We humble ourselves before 00:34:09.090 --> 00:34:14.769 you because you are the God that makes all things 00:34:14.769 --> 00:34:24.090 new. It's what he does. It's what he does. We 00:34:24.090 --> 00:34:30.969 fast and we pray to position ourselves. For that 00:34:30.969 --> 00:34:37.489 which what God wants to bring in our lives. When 00:34:37.489 --> 00:34:44.610 you receive a word from the Lord, which if you 00:34:44.610 --> 00:34:48.170 read your scriptures, you are receiving word 00:34:48.170 --> 00:34:51.949 from the Lord. Did you know that? God will apply 00:34:51.949 --> 00:34:55.630 it to your lives. That's why... The beginning 00:34:55.630 --> 00:34:58.510 of the year is a great time to renew your commitment 00:34:58.510 --> 00:35:02.650 to the Word of God. And you're reading it, you're 00:35:02.650 --> 00:35:04.989 reading it, you're reading it. And, you know, 00:35:05.070 --> 00:35:08.010 for a lot of passages, you're just reading it 00:35:08.010 --> 00:35:10.590 and it's good and you're just trying to understand 00:35:10.590 --> 00:35:12.869 it and you're just trying to take it in. And 00:35:12.869 --> 00:35:16.269 then you come across a passage one day that you're 00:35:16.269 --> 00:35:21.369 reading and it just goes... And it's God speaking 00:35:21.369 --> 00:35:26.849 his word directly to your life. But friend, if 00:35:26.849 --> 00:35:28.489 you're not in the word of God, you're going to 00:35:28.489 --> 00:35:34.190 miss it. Or somebody has prayed over you and 00:35:34.190 --> 00:35:38.269 released by the gift of the Spirit a prophetic 00:35:38.269 --> 00:35:44.739 word over your life. And that word... comes into 00:35:44.739 --> 00:35:47.440 you, and you have a sense that you know that 00:35:47.440 --> 00:35:51.139 this is God for your life. Well, what is your 00:35:51.139 --> 00:35:56.559 responsibility? You have a responsibility to 00:35:56.559 --> 00:36:00.199 the fulfillment of that Word. Well, I can't make 00:36:00.199 --> 00:36:03.340 it come about. No, only God can make it come 00:36:03.340 --> 00:36:06.219 about. It's the Word of the Lord. Amen? Only 00:36:06.219 --> 00:36:08.579 He can come about, make it come about. But what 00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:13.170 can you do? You can position yourself. for the 00:36:13.170 --> 00:36:16.809 word to come about in your life. You can fast 00:36:16.809 --> 00:36:20.750 and pray. You can stand in the place of God, 00:36:20.929 --> 00:36:23.570 believing before, you can stand before the Lord, 00:36:23.670 --> 00:36:26.989 believing for that word to come to pass in the 00:36:26.989 --> 00:36:30.750 name of Jesus. God, I'm not just going to let 00:36:30.750 --> 00:36:34.530 that word fall to the ground. I'm going to steward 00:36:34.530 --> 00:36:38.750 the word that has been given to me so that I 00:36:38.750 --> 00:36:44.110 can see that word come to pass in my life. Behold, 00:36:44.130 --> 00:36:49.289 I make all things new. God, I position myself 00:36:49.289 --> 00:36:53.210 before you because you're the God that makes 00:36:53.210 --> 00:37:03.300 all things new. We want God to do it all. And 00:37:03.300 --> 00:37:08.380 we sang about his faithfulness. And he is faithful. 00:37:11.820 --> 00:37:17.519 He is faithful. He is faithful. And I have the 00:37:17.519 --> 00:37:20.239 worship team come and do one of the songs that 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:23.539 you did earlier about the faithfulness of God. 00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:32.980 And I want us to have a moment here of consecration. 00:37:36.579 --> 00:37:44.460 Because you have God -given dreams for 2026. 00:37:46.619 --> 00:37:49.679 Anybody have a God -given dream for 2026? Anybody? 00:37:49.840 --> 00:37:52.280 Come on, lift up your hand if you have something 00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:55.940 you're believing God for in 2026. We need to 00:37:55.940 --> 00:38:00.000 believe God. These are things we're laying before 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:07.280 the Lord. We're believing God. Hallelujah. There's 00:38:07.280 --> 00:38:13.579 a father in the room who has a deep desire to 00:38:13.579 --> 00:38:19.599 become the man of God that he created you to 00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:23.460 be. But you know in your heart you're far from 00:38:23.460 --> 00:38:34.329 it. And you wonder, can I ever get there? And 00:38:34.329 --> 00:38:36.949 the Lord would speak to you this morning and 00:38:36.949 --> 00:38:40.150 say that He sees that desire that's tucked into 00:38:40.150 --> 00:38:46.030 your heart to become what God created you to 00:38:46.030 --> 00:38:50.929 be. And it is true that right now you're not 00:38:50.929 --> 00:38:57.449 a spiritual leader. But God in 2026, step by 00:38:57.449 --> 00:39:03.449 step, one step at a time, is going to shape you. 00:39:04.150 --> 00:39:08.550 And he is going to take you from one place to 00:39:08.550 --> 00:39:12.449 another, here a little, there a little. And he's 00:39:12.449 --> 00:39:18.610 calling you to position yourself. Keep positioning 00:39:18.610 --> 00:39:22.329 yourself before the Lord. God sees that desire. 00:39:26.440 --> 00:39:31.460 Lord, you see a couple right now that they want 00:39:31.460 --> 00:39:36.500 to honor you in their relationship. And you're 00:39:36.500 --> 00:39:42.880 helping that couple to make things right. And 00:39:42.880 --> 00:39:46.940 they're going to take steps this year that will 00:39:46.940 --> 00:39:50.539 position themselves under the blessing of God. 00:39:54.380 --> 00:39:58.920 Lord, we have dreams and visions that we present 00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:04.019 before you right now in Jesus' name. Dreams and 00:40:04.019 --> 00:40:13.820 visions. Promises. The promises of God. We are 00:40:13.820 --> 00:40:23.159 not alone. And you've called us as a people like 00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:29.190 Daniel. to position ourselves before you. The 00:40:29.190 --> 00:40:42.090 70 years is coming to an end. The slavery is 00:40:42.090 --> 00:40:55.780 over. There's a washing and a cleansing. God 00:40:55.780 --> 00:41:01.360 makes all things new. Perhaps you're here and 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:07.019 you've never trusted Christ as your Savior. Trusting 00:41:07.019 --> 00:41:10.360 Him as your Savior is as simple as a prayer. 00:41:11.920 --> 00:41:15.480 It's as simple as turning away from the old and 00:41:15.480 --> 00:41:21.119 turning to the new. And saying, Jesus, here I 00:41:21.119 --> 00:41:30.059 am. I want to be a follower. This morning, this 00:41:30.059 --> 00:41:37.000 morning, God, we consecrate our hearts to you. 00:41:42.119 --> 00:41:46.159 Grandmothers and grandfathers perhaps have known 00:41:46.159 --> 00:41:49.079 the Lord for a long time but are coming before 00:41:49.079 --> 00:41:54.440 you this morning saying, God, I'm ready for you 00:41:54.440 --> 00:42:01.860 to breathe a new season. Into my life. Hallelujah.