WEBVTT 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:03.029 All right. Well, we're in Genesis chapter 12, 00:00:03.209 --> 00:00:09.429 and I'm here in Genesis 12 because in my devotions 00:00:09.429 --> 00:00:13.449 this morning, the Lord scrapped the message that 00:00:13.449 --> 00:00:16.809 I was going to preach, which was on prayer. I 00:00:16.809 --> 00:00:20.289 was going to finish our prayer and fasting teaching 00:00:20.289 --> 00:00:26.429 on prayer and fasting. Imagine that. Because 00:00:26.429 --> 00:00:28.989 God has been speaking to me and showing me things 00:00:28.989 --> 00:00:31.570 throughout this week, and I was going to relay 00:00:31.570 --> 00:00:38.210 those to you. I will hold that message from Acts 00:00:38.210 --> 00:00:40.969 chapter 6 and different places in the Word of 00:00:40.969 --> 00:00:44.729 God that call the church to prayer. Let me just 00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:48.609 give one point from that message. I believe that 00:00:48.609 --> 00:00:53.049 the single greatest verse for the church today 00:00:54.060 --> 00:00:59.020 is in Matthew chapter 6. And it's right before 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:05.159 Jesus teaches us the Lord's Prayer. And He says 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:11.959 this, and what the Father sees in secret, He 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:21.060 will reward openly. And Jesus is calling all 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:29.480 of us To personal, private, secret prayer. Now 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:32.079 I love what happens when we gather because gathering 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:38.180 is key as well. And it's part of the word that 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:42.980 we gather together often. But that personal, 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:49.299 private, secret place prayer, by and large, by 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:56.049 believers, is neglected. And the Lord is calling 00:01:56.049 --> 00:02:03.409 you and I to personal prayer time. And so I'm 00:02:03.409 --> 00:02:05.150 going to preach that message at a later date. 00:02:10.909 --> 00:02:13.409 Take that and run with it. Meditate in Matthew 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:17.030 6. There's a lot in Matthew 6, but the portion 00:02:17.030 --> 00:02:20.240 on prayer. Say, God, help me apply this to my 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:24.539 life. Because discipleship is not about just 00:02:24.539 --> 00:02:26.879 knowing that Matthew 6 is in there and that the 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:30.379 Lord's Prayer is there. Discipleship is about 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:36.199 actually applying it to your life and doing it. 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:46.219 Amen? Disciples do. Amen? Amen. Now, this morning 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:52.150 early, I was reading, and a series of scriptures 00:02:52.150 --> 00:02:56.889 just flooded my heart. And I noticed this morning 00:02:56.889 --> 00:03:01.449 as we were praying that the sign that many of 00:03:01.449 --> 00:03:03.590 you flock to, in fact, there were more people 00:03:03.590 --> 00:03:07.530 at this sign during that five or seven minutes 00:03:07.530 --> 00:03:10.050 of prayer, there were more people at this sign 00:03:10.050 --> 00:03:12.110 than any other sign. What sign do you think it 00:03:12.110 --> 00:03:17.789 was? Family. The sign right down here. Family. 00:03:18.990 --> 00:03:24.330 And God began to speak to me this morning from 00:03:24.330 --> 00:03:29.370 this passage about family. Now this is the call. 00:03:29.509 --> 00:03:32.349 At this point his name is Abram. It was later 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:35.930 changed to Abraham. Father Abraham. How many 00:03:35.930 --> 00:03:39.229 of you have heard of Father Abraham? And so he 00:03:39.229 --> 00:03:44.509 is the first patriarch of the nation of Israel. 00:03:44.930 --> 00:03:49.590 The people of Israel. God made a covenant with 00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:54.469 Abraham. Abram at this point. And in Genesis 00:03:54.469 --> 00:03:58.409 chapter 12, this is what the Lord spoke to Abram. 00:03:59.250 --> 00:04:04.629 Get out of your country, from your family, and 00:04:04.629 --> 00:04:11.729 from your father's house. And go to a land that 00:04:11.729 --> 00:04:16.110 I will show you. I will make you a great nation. 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:23.000 I will bless you and make your name great. I 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:27.139 will bless those who bless you and I will curse 00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:32.620 him who curses you. And in you, all the families 00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:38.120 of the earth shall be blessed. I want to read 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:42.360 that last line one more time. And in you, all 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:48.590 the families of the earth shall be blessed. Hallelujah. 00:04:48.590 --> 00:04:52.529 Now this covenant that God made with Abram, so 00:04:52.529 --> 00:04:55.829 what did Abram do? So Abram departed and he went 00:04:55.829 --> 00:04:58.970 just as the Lord had commanded and he obeyed 00:04:58.970 --> 00:05:03.189 God. And because he obeyed God, God did what 00:05:03.189 --> 00:05:08.129 he said he would do. Now, just as a side note, 00:05:08.509 --> 00:05:13.629 our blessing of the nation of Israel is important. 00:05:14.949 --> 00:05:18.129 It does not mean that everything that Israel 00:05:18.129 --> 00:05:22.810 does is right. It does not mean that every decision 00:05:22.810 --> 00:05:26.810 that Netanyahu and the people of Israel make 00:05:26.810 --> 00:05:33.290 is godly or good. It doesn't mean that. It doesn't 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:36.790 mean that you have to personally agree with everything 00:05:36.790 --> 00:05:41.029 that the nation of Israel does. But the nation 00:05:41.029 --> 00:05:45.050 of Israel is God's chosen people. And the greatest 00:05:45.050 --> 00:05:49.189 blessing of Israel, the gift that God gave to 00:05:49.189 --> 00:05:50.829 us, as we're going to see as I preach through 00:05:50.829 --> 00:05:55.269 this message, is that our Messiah, Jesus, came 00:05:55.269 --> 00:06:01.350 through the nation of Israel. And so God gave 00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:04.709 Abram a blessing. At this point, he was childless. 00:06:04.750 --> 00:06:09.490 He had no children of his own. And God showed 00:06:09.490 --> 00:06:15.639 him, spoke to him, In you, all the families of 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:19.879 the earth shall be blessed. Now, how many of 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:27.579 you are part of a family? Now, your family might 00:06:27.579 --> 00:06:38.519 be, it just might be messed up. Some of you are 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:40.259 laughing because if you don't laugh, you'll cry. 00:06:46.829 --> 00:06:56.610 Our families can get crazy. Our families can 00:06:56.610 --> 00:07:06.850 be broken. You are part of a family that you 00:07:06.850 --> 00:07:12.829 did not choose. I didn't choose my mom and dad. 00:07:16.110 --> 00:07:21.029 You didn't choose yours. I didn't choose my brothers 00:07:21.029 --> 00:07:27.910 and sisters. I have one sister. Sister. I didn't 00:07:27.910 --> 00:07:31.449 choose them. The only one I chose that's in my 00:07:31.449 --> 00:07:39.810 family is my wife. We wanted children, but we 00:07:39.810 --> 00:07:44.730 didn't even choose them. God chose them. God 00:07:44.730 --> 00:07:51.610 gave us kids. We don't choose the family that 00:07:51.610 --> 00:07:55.689 we're a part of. And for some of you, when I 00:07:55.689 --> 00:07:58.470 say that word family, it just automatically brings 00:07:58.470 --> 00:08:07.350 a lot of pain because it's messed up. The promise 00:08:07.350 --> 00:08:18.120 is still for your family. And in you, all the 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:24.819 families of the earth shall be blessed. Hallelujah. 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:32.500 Hallelujah. Are you with me so far? All the families 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:38.639 of the earth shall be blessed. Three other times, 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:45.480 God spoke a similar promise to Abraham. he substituted 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:50.399 the word family with nations. Three other times 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:53.000 God met with Abraham and said, in you all the 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.740 nations of the earth shall be blessed. There 00:08:56.740 --> 00:09:00.519 was another time when God met with Abraham's 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:07.519 grandson, Jacob, in a dream. And God spoke to 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:12.559 Jacob in Genesis 28, 14 and said the same thing. 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.700 And said, also your descendants shall be as the 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:19.639 dust of the earth. You shall spread abroad to 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:21.799 the west and the east, to the north and the south. 00:09:21.860 --> 00:09:27.419 And in you and in your seed, all the families 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:33.659 of the earth shall be blessed. Hallelujah. And 00:09:33.659 --> 00:09:37.620 so there's this promise. All the families of 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:44.169 the earth shall be blessed. We need to be convinced 00:09:44.169 --> 00:09:52.049 of this. That God wants to bless my family. You 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:55.830 need to be convinced of that. I need to be convinced 00:09:55.830 --> 00:10:01.889 of that. That God wants to bless my family. And 00:10:01.889 --> 00:10:05.830 so let's all say that together. God wants to 00:10:05.830 --> 00:10:10.659 bless my family. There are several stories in 00:10:10.659 --> 00:10:13.759 the Scriptures where God does not just bless 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:19.679 individuals, but where God blesses entire families. 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:22.679 And I began to think about that this morning, 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:27.100 where God blessed Zacchaeus. And you remember 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:30.820 when Jesus came, if you know the story where 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:34.139 Jesus came to Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus was notable 00:10:34.139 --> 00:10:37.519 in the New Testament because he was a short man 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.519 and he could not see through the crowd. And so 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:44.340 he climbed a tree so that he could see Jesus 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:48.639 in the crowd. And Jesus saw Zacchaeus climb the 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:52.840 tree just so he could see him. And Jesus made 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:55.620 a beeline for Zacchaeus and said, I'm coming 00:10:55.620 --> 00:11:00.809 to you. house. And the Bible says in Luke 19, 00:11:00.990 --> 00:11:05.169 9, that salvation has come to you, that salvation 00:11:05.169 --> 00:11:12.009 has come to your house. I love that. I love that. 00:11:12.350 --> 00:11:17.309 Later on in the book of Acts, after Jesus had 00:11:17.309 --> 00:11:24.129 ascended and Peter was given a dream by God, 00:11:26.280 --> 00:11:31.620 that he was not supposed to call unclean that 00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:35.940 which God had made clean. And then he was led 00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:42.080 to the household of Cornelius. And Cornelius, 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:44.419 the unique thing about Cornelius is that he was 00:11:44.419 --> 00:11:48.220 not from the land of Israel. He was not a Jew. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:51.519 He was a Gentile like most of us in the room. 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:56.169 And normally, Peter never would have... even 00:11:56.169 --> 00:12:00.470 talked to a Gentile, but God wanted to break 00:12:00.470 --> 00:12:04.129 down the wall between Jews and Gentiles, because 00:12:04.129 --> 00:12:07.789 salvation was not just for Jews. Salvation was 00:12:07.789 --> 00:12:11.049 also for Gentiles. And so Peter preached the 00:12:11.049 --> 00:12:14.649 message. Everybody that was there, which was 00:12:14.649 --> 00:12:19.509 Cornelius's family, Cornelius's servants, all 00:12:19.509 --> 00:12:21.990 the people that worked in Cornelius's house, 00:12:22.169 --> 00:12:25.779 everybody that was there gave the their life 00:12:25.779 --> 00:12:30.100 to Jesus, got filled with the Holy Spirit, and 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:34.919 Peter was stunned that God would love the Gentiles 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:41.820 too. And Cornelius and his whole household came 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:45.279 to God. Wouldn't it be awesome if your whole 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:50.700 household came to the Lord? Wouldn't it be awesome 00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:54.320 if your whole household came to the Lord? Now, 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.179 there's one more that I want to turn to in Acts 00:12:57.179 --> 00:13:02.480 chapter 16. If you can turn there. Now, Paul, 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:09.259 in Acts 16, Paul and Silas were put in jail for 00:13:09.259 --> 00:13:14.220 preaching the word, which is common today around 00:13:14.220 --> 00:13:16.480 the world. We live in a bubble called America. 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:20.350 But around the world, people are being jailed 00:13:20.350 --> 00:13:23.769 and killed for their faith in Jesus Christ, even 00:13:23.769 --> 00:13:28.330 today. Paul and Silas were jailed for preaching 00:13:28.330 --> 00:13:35.169 the good news of Jesus Christ. And verse 25, 00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:38.909 let's pick it up there. At midnight they were 00:13:38.909 --> 00:13:42.370 praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners 00:13:42.370 --> 00:13:45.669 were listening to them and suddenly there was 00:13:45.669 --> 00:13:48.970 a great earthquake so that the foundation of 00:13:48.970 --> 00:13:52.370 the prison were shaken and immediately all the 00:13:52.370 --> 00:13:55.590 doors were opened and everyone's chains were 00:13:55.590 --> 00:14:01.389 loosed and the keeper of the prison, awakening 00:14:01.389 --> 00:14:06.529 from sleep and seeing the prison doors opened, 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:12.899 Supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword, 00:14:13.100 --> 00:14:17.960 and was about to kill himself. Because he knew 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:24.899 what would happen to him if his bosses found 00:14:24.899 --> 00:14:27.559 out that the prisoners escaped on his watch. 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:33.679 He would be tortured and killed. But Paul called 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:39.710 with a loud voice. Saying, do yourself no harm 00:14:39.710 --> 00:14:47.850 for we are all here. Can I just say another aside 00:14:47.850 --> 00:14:52.429 here for a moment? Just because a door opens 00:14:52.429 --> 00:15:05.190 doesn't mean you should walk through it. The 00:15:05.190 --> 00:15:11.379 angel opened up the door. But Paul and Silas 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:17.419 had a check in their heart. No. We've got to 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:23.759 stay right here. And the prison guard woke up, 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:26.980 was about to kill himself, and Paul screamed 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:33.659 out, don't do it. We are all here. I just find 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:38.370 this story stunning. And the prison guard called 00:15:38.370 --> 00:15:42.750 for a light, ran in and fell down trembling before 00:15:42.750 --> 00:15:46.590 Paul and Silas. He brought them out. Now they 00:15:46.590 --> 00:15:49.269 can walk through the door. He brought them out 00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:56.450 and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? What 00:15:56.450 --> 00:15:59.929 must I do to give my life to the Lord? You've 00:15:59.929 --> 00:16:03.649 got something that I need and I want what you 00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:07.850 have. So they said to him, believe on the Lord 00:16:07.850 --> 00:16:13.129 Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your 00:16:13.129 --> 00:16:17.519 household. They spoke the word of the Lord to 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:20.600 him and to all who were in his house. And he 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:23.799 took them the same hour of the night and washed 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.860 their stripes. And so now this guard that had 00:16:26.860 --> 00:16:29.960 participated in beating them, that had participated 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:33.320 in putting them in the prison, now he's washing 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:37.620 their wounds and bringing healing to them. Salvation 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:41.299 has come to his house. And immediately he... 00:16:41.870 --> 00:16:54.750 and all his family were baptized. Isn't that 00:16:54.750 --> 00:16:59.950 an awesome story? God wants every single one 00:16:59.950 --> 00:17:03.889 of your family members to be saved. I've got 00:17:03.889 --> 00:17:08.990 family members that are not saved. Most of you. 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:12.859 have family members that are not saved. Most 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:15.539 of you, your salvation did not happen like this. 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:24.480 You came alone. But God wants to bless entire 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:29.839 families. I believe there are families out there, 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:36.740 families out there that need the Lord, that are 00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:47.119 ripe. When Peter preached the first message, 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:52.019 they asked the same question, what must we do? 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:55.700 And Peter said, repent and let every one of you 00:17:55.700 --> 00:17:58.299 be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 00:17:58.299 --> 00:18:02.519 for the remission of sin and you shall receive 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:06.099 the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promise is 00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:16.880 to you, your children, and to all who are afar 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:27.400 off, as many as the Lord our God will call. You 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:31.500 see, the blessing of Abraham was fulfilled in 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:36.880 Jesus Christ, where salvation would be open to 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:43.619 every family. God is in the business of turning 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:52.759 around families. So what should I do, Pastor? 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:59.839 The first thing that you need to do is this. 00:19:02.220 --> 00:19:06.619 Follow Jesus with your whole heart, even if your 00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:13.170 family does not. I want to read a tough scripture 00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:24.549 now. Matthew 10, verse 34. Jesus said this, Do 00:19:24.549 --> 00:19:27.150 not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. 00:19:28.250 --> 00:19:32.789 I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For 00:19:32.789 --> 00:19:35.869 I have come to set a man against his father, 00:19:36.049 --> 00:19:40.099 a daughter against her mother, a daughter -in 00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:43.240 -law against her mother -in -law, and a man's 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:48.720 enemies will be those of his own household. He 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.519 who loves father or mother more than me is not 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:55.660 worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more 00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:59.250 than me is not worthy of me. He who does not 00:19:59.250 --> 00:20:03.170 take his cross and follow after me is not worthy 00:20:03.170 --> 00:20:06.730 of me. He who finds his life will lose it, but 00:20:06.730 --> 00:20:10.730 he who loses his life for my sake will find it. 00:20:11.630 --> 00:20:16.970 This is a tough scripture. What Jesus was saying 00:20:16.970 --> 00:20:21.509 is that he has got to have first place in your 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:28.099 life. And again, around the world, In fact, in 00:20:28.099 --> 00:20:33.160 the religion of Islam, if one converts to Christianity, 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:39.640 they are cut off from their family. Well, do 00:20:39.640 --> 00:20:42.819 you think that it's God's will for that person 00:20:42.819 --> 00:20:48.940 to come to Christ? Absolutely. Islam is a demonic 00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:55.720 religion leading people astray. The fastest growing 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:59.720 religion in America right now. Drawing people 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:05.440 away from God. And Jesus said this, you might 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:10.880 have to pay a high price to follow me. But if 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:15.019 you will pay the price, God will begin to work. 00:21:15.849 --> 00:21:19.450 And he will begin to move. Friend, the best thing 00:21:19.450 --> 00:21:22.130 that you can do for your family, even if your 00:21:22.130 --> 00:21:25.250 family does not understand you, even if they 00:21:25.250 --> 00:21:28.410 don't get it, even if they don't see, the best 00:21:28.410 --> 00:21:32.089 thing that you can do is follow Jesus with your 00:21:32.089 --> 00:21:36.470 whole heart, even if your family does not. Hallelujah. 00:21:37.450 --> 00:21:41.230 Hallelujah. I have seen again and again and again 00:21:41.230 --> 00:21:51.170 couples Backslide together. And so I believe 00:21:51.170 --> 00:21:53.730 that God wants couples to walk together in unity. 00:21:53.809 --> 00:21:57.289 Amen? I believe that God wants couples to be 00:21:57.289 --> 00:22:01.690 one in Christ. Hallelujah. But I'm telling you 00:22:01.690 --> 00:22:04.529 this. I said this a couple of months ago and 00:22:04.529 --> 00:22:07.329 I'll say it again today. That if I stray from 00:22:07.329 --> 00:22:11.960 Jesus, my wife is not going to follow me. And 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:15.079 if she strays from Jesus, I am not going to follow 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:20.880 her. I am not going to use my family as an excuse 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:25.740 to stray from God. I have a son right now that 00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:28.380 we're believing for God to get a hold of his 00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:31.900 heart and get a hold of his life. We love him 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:36.359 incredibly. But I will not compromise the truth 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:47.430 of God's word for my son. I cannot do that. I 00:22:47.430 --> 00:22:52.849 cannot do that. The best thing that you can do 00:22:52.849 --> 00:23:00.690 is without compromise, devote your life wholly 00:23:00.690 --> 00:23:08.069 to Jesus. The second thing that you need to do 00:23:08.069 --> 00:23:16.059 is kind of like it. And that is this. Get rid 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:22.940 of that secret sin. Go with me to Acts chapter 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:29.539 3. And Peter and John are preaching. Peter again. 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:34.799 And they had just seen the man at the gate beautiful 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:40.359 healed. And they were explaining what had happened 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.859 at that healing. May the church have to explain 00:23:43.859 --> 00:23:48.180 healing again as God does incredible things in 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:52.200 our midst. And listen to what Peter says in verse 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:56.960 19. Repent therefore and be converted that your 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:00.819 sins might be blotted out so that times of refreshing 00:24:00.819 --> 00:24:04.359 might come from the Lord, from the presence of 00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:08.359 the Lord. And that he might send Jesus Christ 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:12.710 who was preached to you before. whom heaven must 00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:17.650 receive until the times of restoration of all 00:24:17.650 --> 00:24:20.990 things, which God has spoken by the mouth of 00:24:20.990 --> 00:24:25.170 his holy prophets since the world began. And 00:24:25.170 --> 00:24:31.750 then he goes on, and then verse 25 says, you 00:24:31.750 --> 00:24:35.829 are sons of the prophets, and the covenant which 00:24:35.829 --> 00:24:40.150 God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:44.039 this is where the message comes full circle, 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:50.700 saying to Abraham, and in your seed, all the 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:56.880 families of the earth shall be blessed. To you 00:24:56.880 --> 00:25:01.119 first, God having raised up His servant Jesus, 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:08.400 sent Him to bless you in turning every one of 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:19.549 you From your iniquities. Turning every one of 00:25:19.549 --> 00:25:25.349 you from your iniquities. So the blessing of 00:25:25.349 --> 00:25:33.730 God. Is opposed. To that secret sin. And that 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:40.539 secret sin. Is opposed. To the blessing of God. 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:47.099 Jesus wants to bless your family. But you've 00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:53.660 got to get rid of that secret sin. Jesus didn't 00:25:53.660 --> 00:25:58.700 die on the cross so that you could continue in 00:25:58.700 --> 00:26:05.779 your sin and just be forgiven every Sunday and 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:12.039 live. Continue to live however you want. He shed 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:15.240 his blood on Calvary not only to forgive you, 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:22.240 but to set you free from it. So that it no longer 00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:28.819 has dominion in your life. We've got to confess 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:33.160 that thing. And we've got to get it out of our 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:40.140 heart. The greatest harm a father brings to a 00:26:40.140 --> 00:26:44.140 family is when he refuses to turn from secret 00:26:44.140 --> 00:26:48.880 sin. But the greatest blessing a father gives 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:53.339 to his family is when he humbles himself before 00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:57.400 the Lord and says, God, I'm following you with 00:26:57.400 --> 00:27:01.099 my whole heart. And please, it's not about perfection. 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:06.200 Because I've been walking with Jesus for 39 years. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.599 This summer it will be 40 years that I've been 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:16.740 walking with Jesus. And last week, last week, 00:27:16.819 --> 00:27:23.680 God brought conviction to my heart about a sin. 00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:33.099 And I'll tell you what it was. I read of a pastor 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:37.809 who had fallen. And was removed from the ministry. 00:27:39.990 --> 00:27:45.250 And in the back of my heart, I was feeling good 00:27:45.250 --> 00:27:53.309 about myself. Because I've not done that. And 00:27:53.309 --> 00:27:59.529 the Holy Spirit convicted me of that wickedness. 00:28:01.130 --> 00:28:04.309 Because it's not because of my own goodness that 00:28:04.309 --> 00:28:09.170 I am what I am. It is only because of the grace 00:28:09.170 --> 00:28:14.970 of God. And I had to confess that thing before 00:28:14.970 --> 00:28:18.529 the Lord. The greatest thing I can do for my 00:28:18.529 --> 00:28:23.930 family, for my church family, is to walk uprightly. 00:28:24.650 --> 00:28:27.349 And it doesn't mean perfection, but it does mean 00:28:27.349 --> 00:28:31.329 this. To respond to the conviction of the Holy 00:28:31.329 --> 00:28:37.309 Spirit. And it means that I am walking with Christ. 00:28:38.410 --> 00:28:41.529 And so I repented of that thing and I said, God, 00:28:41.710 --> 00:28:47.769 forgive me. Wash me and cleanse me. And get that 00:28:47.769 --> 00:28:55.640 thing out of my heart. Peter. Coupled the blessing 00:28:55.640 --> 00:29:01.779 that God spoke to Abraham with repentance from 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:10.559 iniquity. And I want to call. Not because you're 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:13.839 bad or I'm bad. You know, the Holy Spirit doesn't 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:16.799 convict me of those things because I'm bad. He 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:19.119 convicts me of those things because He wants 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:24.609 to make me more like Jesus. And so I don't say 00:29:24.609 --> 00:29:27.210 that, I don't preach this part of the message 00:29:27.210 --> 00:29:31.289 to declare people that are bad and I want them 00:29:31.289 --> 00:29:35.049 to feel horrible. No, I want you to feel drawn 00:29:35.049 --> 00:29:42.529 to the Lord and to say, God, God, have your way 00:29:42.529 --> 00:29:52.099 in my heart and in my life. Amen. God, I'm doing 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:55.819 my best to follow you. I know I've got a long 00:29:55.819 --> 00:30:00.019 way to go. But God, I want you to have your way 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:04.339 in my life. And when you convict me, and when 00:30:04.339 --> 00:30:08.900 you speak to my heart, I want to respond. A teachable 00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:11.400 and moldable heart. If you want the blessing 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:15.200 of God to come on your family, have a teachable 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:22.049 and moldable heart. Hallelujah. Glory to God. 00:30:24.369 --> 00:30:28.170 And then the third thing is from Malachi chapter 00:30:28.170 --> 00:30:39.289 4. Malachi chapter 4. And this is the last verse 00:30:39.289 --> 00:30:43.210 of the Old Testament before Jesus came on the 00:30:43.210 --> 00:30:46.650 scene, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It's about 00:30:46.650 --> 00:30:49.779 300 years. between Malachi and the coming of 00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:56.900 Jesus. And this is what Malachi prophesied in 00:30:56.900 --> 00:31:01.359 verse 5 of Malachi 4. Behold, I will send you 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:05.200 Elijah the prophet. That was John the Baptist. 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:09.500 Before the coming of the great and dreadful day 00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:13.940 of the Lord, this is the judgment of God. And 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:17.599 he will turn the hearts of the fathers. to the 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:23.680 children, and the hearts of the children to their 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:29.319 fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:33.619 a curse. Do you know when we are praying for 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:36.660 end time harvest, I believe that many people 00:31:36.660 --> 00:31:39.839 are about to come into the kingdom of God. I 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:41.859 believe that many people are going to turn to 00:31:41.859 --> 00:31:45.279 Jesus for salvation. And some of you are seeing 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:47.920 that in your lives. You know of people who are 00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:52.140 getting hungry for God. Hallelujah. I talked 00:31:52.140 --> 00:31:57.019 with a young man yesterday who has known his 00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:00.000 whole life that God has been knocking on the 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.839 door of his heart and is saying, I'm trying to 00:32:04.839 --> 00:32:09.299 respond to God in my life. And there are many 00:32:09.299 --> 00:32:12.599 people that are like that. And they don't really 00:32:12.599 --> 00:32:15.519 know what to do, but God is knocking on the door 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:19.900 of their heart. One thing that happens when you 00:32:19.900 --> 00:32:24.380 meet the Lord is that your heart turns to your 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:29.200 heavenly Father. And the book of Romans chapter 00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:33.680 8 says that when you come to Christ, that your 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:40.170 heart will cry out, Abba. Father. And in response 00:32:40.170 --> 00:32:44.470 to that, as your heart turns to your heavenly 00:32:44.470 --> 00:32:49.589 Father, guess what happens? Your heart begins 00:32:49.589 --> 00:32:58.190 to turn in a new way to your family. Where before 00:32:58.190 --> 00:33:01.210 you could only think evil about your family, 00:33:01.250 --> 00:33:06.569 but now your heart is getting healed. God is 00:33:06.569 --> 00:33:10.250 healing all the hurt and the pain of your past, 00:33:10.390 --> 00:33:13.589 and now you're suddenly having thoughts that 00:33:13.589 --> 00:33:16.910 you didn't have before of affection and love 00:33:16.910 --> 00:33:26.130 for your family. It is not always natural for 00:33:26.130 --> 00:33:29.589 the hearts of children to turn to their fathers. 00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:35.380 It's not natural because of what that father 00:33:35.380 --> 00:33:40.880 might represent. But can I tell you this? It's 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:45.119 supernatural. It doesn't mean that you're agreeing 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:47.960 with everything that your father does. It doesn't 00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:50.299 mean that you like everything your father represents. 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:54.359 It doesn't mean that you appreciate the past 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:57.339 that you've had in your life. You might have 00:33:57.339 --> 00:34:00.019 walked through some hard things, but you have 00:34:00.019 --> 00:34:03.099 a heavenly father that is healing your heart. 00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:07.039 And you're beginning to have different emotions 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:11.380 and different affections. And you're beginning 00:34:11.380 --> 00:34:21.519 to forgive people in your family. Woo! The heart 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:26.480 of the father who's been separated from his kids. 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:33.519 My kids have cut me off. And part of it might 00:34:33.519 --> 00:34:38.730 be my own heart. Oh, but... You've given your 00:34:38.730 --> 00:34:45.010 life to Jesus. And your father has begun to heal 00:34:45.010 --> 00:34:49.289 you. And you're beginning to repent of your own 00:34:49.289 --> 00:34:55.849 iniquity towards your kids. And you're starting 00:34:55.849 --> 00:35:02.510 to have feelings again. That you didn't have 00:35:02.510 --> 00:35:09.900 before. And your heart. Is turning towards your 00:35:09.900 --> 00:35:14.880 sons and daughters. Do you know what this is? 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:24.579 This is revival. This is the moving of God's 00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:32.119 spirit. And you begin to pray differently. And 00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:36.760 you begin to say, God, I don't deserve it. But 00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:39.320 would you give me a relationship with my kids 00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:46.619 again? Would you give me an opportunity because 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:48.920 there's no way they'll listen to me right now? 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:59.719 But would you somehow open the door for us to 00:35:59.719 --> 00:36:08.769 just even talk again? And the hearts of the fathers 00:36:08.769 --> 00:36:16.289 turn to the children. And the hearts of the children 00:36:16.289 --> 00:36:26.110 turn to the fathers. And God heals a family. 00:36:28.630 --> 00:36:36.090 This is what he does. I believe in 2026. that 00:36:36.090 --> 00:36:40.309 some of your families are going to turn around. 00:36:42.969 --> 00:36:46.530 I believe that in this year, some of your kids, 00:36:46.690 --> 00:36:55.190 God is going to answer your prayer. I believe 00:36:55.190 --> 00:37:02.909 that God is going to move mightily in our messed 00:37:02.909 --> 00:37:11.010 up families. I want to close with a verse I've 00:37:11.010 --> 00:37:13.929 been meditating in. I shared it at the funeral 00:37:13.929 --> 00:37:17.250 for Catherine's sister yesterday, the celebration 00:37:17.250 --> 00:37:24.030 of life. And I want to close with 1 Peter 4 and 00:37:24.030 --> 00:37:30.170 verse 7. And I want you to think about society. 00:37:31.570 --> 00:37:33.989 I want you to think about what's been happening 00:37:33.989 --> 00:37:39.170 in the news, in Minneapolis. In Portland, in 00:37:39.170 --> 00:37:48.550 hard places. It has been crazy, hasn't it? And 00:37:48.550 --> 00:37:52.730 then we hear the words of Peter. 1 Peter 4, 7. 00:37:53.489 --> 00:37:59.469 But the end of all things is at hand. How many 00:37:59.469 --> 00:38:03.329 of you can sense that? The end of all things 00:38:03.329 --> 00:38:07.489 is at hand. And so then he gives some instruction. 00:38:07.690 --> 00:38:09.849 What should we do now that we know that, now 00:38:09.849 --> 00:38:12.269 that we see that? We're reading the end of all 00:38:12.269 --> 00:38:18.489 things in the news every day. Therefore, be serious 00:38:18.489 --> 00:38:23.789 and watchful in your prayers. And then verse 00:38:23.789 --> 00:38:29.409 8. And above all things. Everybody say all things. 00:38:31.250 --> 00:38:38.610 Above all things. Have fervent love for one another. 00:38:40.250 --> 00:38:47.730 For love will cover a multitude of sins. Whoo! 00:38:49.530 --> 00:38:54.349 Hallelujah. Do you know what the news is trying 00:38:54.349 --> 00:39:01.539 to steal from you? Your love for people. Do you 00:39:01.539 --> 00:39:05.239 know how the world responds right now? If you 00:39:05.239 --> 00:39:11.099 don't agree with me, get out of my life. That's 00:39:11.099 --> 00:39:14.719 what the world does. Friends, that's not Jesus. 00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:20.539 They do that to their own families. If you don't 00:39:20.539 --> 00:39:25.760 agree with me, get out of my life. That's not 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:30.099 the response of the believer. You be careful. 00:39:30.780 --> 00:39:34.760 You be careful as you watch the news. You be 00:39:34.760 --> 00:39:38.679 careful that you filter it well because if you 00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:42.960 don't, it will harden your heart. It will harden 00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:46.360 your heart and you will not be able to love people 00:39:46.360 --> 00:39:53.179 that do not agree with you. But Peter... commands 00:39:53.179 --> 00:39:55.639 us, Peter's in my message a lot, and here's in 00:39:55.639 --> 00:39:58.719 his letter that he's written here, 1 Peter chapter 00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:03.340 4 and verse 7, he commands us that in these end 00:40:03.340 --> 00:40:06.920 times, we need to do something above everything, 00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:12.800 and that is this, guard our ability to love one 00:40:12.800 --> 00:40:17.349 another. Guard our ability to love one another. 00:40:17.489 --> 00:40:20.929 What did Jesus say? They will know that you are 00:40:20.929 --> 00:40:25.429 my disciples because you go to church on Sunday. 00:40:29.369 --> 00:40:32.929 No. Now that's important, but that's not what 00:40:32.929 --> 00:40:37.050 Jesus said. They will know you are my disciples 00:40:37.050 --> 00:40:43.239 because you sing so beautifully. They will know 00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:49.699 that you are my disciples because you love one 00:40:49.699 --> 00:40:58.079 another. Love one another. If your relationship 00:40:58.079 --> 00:41:03.940 to God does not affect the people around you, 00:41:04.079 --> 00:41:23.559 what are we doing? For your family member just 00:41:23.559 --> 00:41:29.840 might cover a multitude of sins. Just might cause 00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:36.360 them to want what you have. Just might bring 00:41:36.360 --> 00:41:43.380 them near. Hallelujah. We have a prayer wall 00:41:43.380 --> 00:41:46.280 back here in the corner. You see if you turn 00:41:46.280 --> 00:41:49.079 your head and look, you see things stuck to it. 00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:54.260 Those are prayer requests from people in our 00:41:54.260 --> 00:41:57.019 church. We call that our prayer circle, that 00:41:57.019 --> 00:42:02.679 carpet back there. My wife posted a prayer need 00:42:02.679 --> 00:42:05.900 on there. Last night I was back there just praying 00:42:05.900 --> 00:42:11.619 over the needs in this body. You can write the 00:42:11.619 --> 00:42:16.760 name of your family member on a card, and they're 00:42:16.760 --> 00:42:23.019 going to get prayed over. You can write a need 00:42:23.019 --> 00:42:25.820 on that card. In fact, Kathy's going to be back 00:42:25.820 --> 00:42:29.599 there after the service to help you if you want 00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:32.420 a card and you want to write down a prayer need. 00:42:32.480 --> 00:42:35.920 You can do that. The body will be praying for 00:42:35.920 --> 00:42:44.500 you. God spoke to Abraham and said, in you all 00:42:44.500 --> 00:42:50.639 the families of the earth will be blessed. And 00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:56.300 I want to remind God of that every day as I pray 00:42:56.300 --> 00:43:00.460 over my sons and daughters, as I allow Him to 00:43:00.460 --> 00:43:08.079 work in me. Have your way, God. That's why I 00:43:08.079 --> 00:43:10.139 sang that song this morning because I knew what 00:43:10.139 --> 00:43:17.480 I would be preaching about. That song said that... 00:43:19.119 --> 00:43:27.739 The enemy has no authority in my family. Because 00:43:27.739 --> 00:43:34.940 God has designed my family for blessing. Amen? 00:43:37.539 --> 00:43:44.380 Amen. How many of you would say, I want this 00:43:44.380 --> 00:43:49.599 to be a part of my family? Just lift up your 00:43:49.599 --> 00:43:59.860 hand. Oh, come on. I feel like God wants to do 00:43:59.860 --> 00:44:03.920 something right now. Most of you raised your 00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:12.039 hand. Because you know the hidden parts of your 00:44:12.039 --> 00:44:18.269 family that you won't tell anybody. And you want 00:44:18.269 --> 00:44:23.909 God to do a work. You know that you can't straighten 00:44:23.909 --> 00:44:26.070 it out because if you could, it would be straightened 00:44:26.070 --> 00:44:35.230 out already. You need God to do it. You need 00:44:35.230 --> 00:44:38.989 God to do it. There's Goliaths in your family. 00:44:39.070 --> 00:44:43.369 You need God to help you slay. David didn't do 00:44:43.369 --> 00:44:47.269 that on his own. He came in the name of the Lord 00:44:47.269 --> 00:44:54.929 God of Israel. There's healing in brokenness. 00:44:59.650 --> 00:45:02.050 And here's what I want you to stand for. Don't 00:45:02.050 --> 00:45:07.230 stand yet. Here's what I want you to stand for. 00:45:08.449 --> 00:45:14.420 If you have a conviction in your heart, that 00:45:14.420 --> 00:45:22.679 God really will work in your family. I want you 00:45:22.679 --> 00:45:24.780 to take a moment. I don't want you to just respond. 00:45:24.900 --> 00:45:28.440 I want you to take a moment. And if you have 00:45:28.440 --> 00:45:33.980 a conviction that in 2026, God will really work 00:45:33.980 --> 00:45:42.800 in my family, then I want you to respond by standing. 00:45:43.550 --> 00:45:54.489 In faith. Because this is not an empty promise. 00:45:55.550 --> 00:46:01.369 This is the whole reason Jesus came. To bring 00:46:01.369 --> 00:46:05.730 families near to him. Sons and daughters, moms 00:46:05.730 --> 00:46:13.019 and dads. All of it. Healing. And restoration. 00:46:16.619 --> 00:46:23.500 He is working. He is moving. Hallelujah. Father, 00:46:23.519 --> 00:46:28.239 I just ask that you would put faith in the hearts 00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:33.440 of your people. Grandparents. Believing for their 00:46:33.440 --> 00:46:41.239 grandsons and granddaughters. People here believing 00:46:41.239 --> 00:46:48.019 for their moms and dads. People here believing 00:46:48.019 --> 00:46:57.480 for their sons and daughters and spouses. God, 00:46:57.639 --> 00:47:03.400 I am declaring over this house that 2026 is a 00:47:03.400 --> 00:47:09.010 year of healing for the family. Blessing for 00:47:09.010 --> 00:47:14.510 the family. In Jesus' mighty name.