WEBVTT 00:00:33.770 --> 00:00:39.979 Good morning, everyone. Well, you heard Pastor 00:00:39.979 --> 00:00:44.880 Pablo correctly that this is a series on spiritual 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:50.020 lessons in our walk with God. But Pastor Pablo, 00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:53.840 I have a problem. I have a problem with your 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:56.840 creative artwork, your creative backgrounds. 00:00:57.259 --> 00:01:03.859 It's so idyllic. It's so like I'm walking through 00:01:03.859 --> 00:01:06.439 this enchanted forest. Nothing could possibly... 00:01:07.290 --> 00:01:11.469 Happen wrong. It's just, what a wonderful walk 00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:18.730 with God. I'm here to say today, hogwash. What 00:01:18.730 --> 00:01:21.709 about the childhood traumas that we experience 00:01:21.709 --> 00:01:26.250 in life? Boom! In that idyllic walk. What about 00:01:26.250 --> 00:01:35.840 teen years? Pimples. Right? pimples and pressure 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:39.159 and also passion that's starting to grow up. 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:48.480 Does it match that scene of serenity? And then 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:50.939 all of a sudden we get into the young adult, 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:53.040 at least the first part of young adult, where 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:54.500 we have to make the decision whether going to 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:56.859 university or are we going to just start our 00:01:56.859 --> 00:01:59.840 career? By the way, money is starting to add 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:02.219 up if you know there's more dollar signs that 00:02:02.219 --> 00:02:06.700 are coming as we go along. Or in phase two of 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:08.939 young adult, maybe now we're going to get married. 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:15.060 Maybe we're going to stay single. Maybe we've 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:17.900 already launched our career now, but more and 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:23.879 more money. And then we get to middle age. And 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:26.939 maybe we are married already. And maybe we're 00:02:26.939 --> 00:02:32.199 divorced. And maybe we're still single. And maybe 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:36.360 now we have... A couple of kids. And of course 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:45.819 the dollar sign keeps going up. Can you click 00:02:45.819 --> 00:02:51.800 that for me? Thank you. Ah, now we get old. We 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:55.780 get older. And we might still be married. We 00:02:55.780 --> 00:02:59.439 might be divorced. We might be single. We now 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:01.879 have adult children. We might even have grandchildren 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:07.860 now. And you know what? This is where the medical 00:03:07.860 --> 00:03:11.120 comes in. You know, it's at this age where we 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:16.639 start to think, where did that come from? I don't 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:18.900 remember seeing that. Well, actually, it was 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:23.759 over there the other day. Now we're here. And, 00:03:23.860 --> 00:03:26.620 you know, all of a sudden, our world, this nice, 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:33.330 serene world gets disrupted. It gets disrupted 00:03:33.330 --> 00:03:38.030 by our aging, by the passages of life, by the 00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:41.009 growing of our children, or still waiting for 00:03:41.009 --> 00:03:44.370 that person who is going to be the one that we 00:03:44.370 --> 00:03:56.169 will marry. And then we reach even a much older 00:03:56.169 --> 00:03:59.590 age. Are we still married? Has our spouse passed 00:03:59.590 --> 00:04:02.699 away? Are we still single after all those years? 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:06.000 Maybe. We have children and grandchildren, possibly 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.860 even great -grandchildren. Where are they? Why 00:04:07.860 --> 00:04:11.039 are they not coming and giving us money? After 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:13.560 all this time that we have put out all that money, 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:18.939 and where are they? Yeah, this is more realistic, 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:24.319 Pastor Pablo. Okay? Your nice little green scene 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:28.279 of running through the enchanted forest does 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:33.139 not match. my experience of the passages of time. 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:36.379 He did say to share our experiences. So here 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:42.379 we are, kind of like throwing these bombs onto 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:51.139 that idyllic scene. I guess we're going to have 00:04:51.139 --> 00:04:54.980 a problem with this today. Let's close in prayer. 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:11.740 Too soon? Sorry. Really, it's an honor to be 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:14.600 able to come and share with you what I really 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.600 believe was a download from the Lord and reflects 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:20.720 all the bombs that you saw along that idyllic 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:25.560 pathway and that I want to share with you about 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:30.199 kingdom wars and rival kingdoms. I believe that 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:33.459 Jesus is my king. I believe that Jesus has come 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:39.060 to set up his kingdom. And I believe that the 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:45.779 enemy doesn't just sit back and go, while that 00:05:45.779 --> 00:05:50.500 happens. Instead, I believe that Satan and his 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:57.360 temporary kingdom is manifesting itself to fight 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:02.100 against. God's kingdom. And I want to show you 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:04.800 today a couple ways in which that happens and 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:08.660 how that also was in my life, in personal life. 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:15.680 This is not Christmas, but I need to read this 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:19.560 to you, or you need to read it with me. You will 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:24.519 conceive and give birth to a son, and you are 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:28.500 to call him Jesus. This is Gabriel talking to 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:32.870 Mary. And he will be great and will be called 00:06:32.870 --> 00:06:38.189 the son of the most high. The Lord God will give 00:06:38.189 --> 00:06:42.930 him the throne of his father David. And he will 00:06:42.930 --> 00:06:46.750 reign over Jacob's descendants forever. And his 00:06:46.750 --> 00:06:53.930 kingdom will never end. Think about how profound 00:06:53.930 --> 00:06:57.810 the words that we just read in there. Jesus means 00:06:57.810 --> 00:07:04.139 what? Savior, salvation, great, son of the most 00:07:04.139 --> 00:07:09.060 high, throne, who sits on thrones, kings do. 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:15.839 David, reign, kingdom will never end. This is 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:21.639 from Gabriel to Mary saying this is what is going 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:25.920 to happen. This is what is happening. There are 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:31.040 kingdom wars. Because there are rival kingdoms. 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:36.560 Satan is not just turning over and saying, yeah, 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:42.819 whatever. But he attempts to rival. Now, I know 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:46.319 there's that great song, you have no rival. Okay, 00:07:46.420 --> 00:07:49.959 I know that. It's true. No rival can beat Jesus. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:55.060 But that doesn't stop the enemy from rivaling. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:01.519 against the kingdom of God. And so if you will 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:07.379 look carefully, I have seen in my life, and I 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.180 imagine that in your life, you have seen these 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:16.500 too, these rival kingdoms, these attempts to 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:21.579 rival against Jesus. The first one I would like 00:08:21.579 --> 00:08:24.790 to bring to you. is the kingdom of Herod. What 00:08:24.790 --> 00:08:28.910 a nice looking guy. The kingdom of Herod. I'm 00:08:28.910 --> 00:08:33.789 talking about, yes, the historical Herod, but 00:08:33.789 --> 00:08:39.889 also the spiritual Herod. Let's revisit this 00:08:39.889 --> 00:08:46.409 passage. In Matthew 2, verses 1 to 3, and then 00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:49.870 verse 16, we hear, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem 00:08:49.870 --> 00:08:53.549 in Judea during the time of King Herod, magi 00:08:53.549 --> 00:08:57.570 from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, where 00:08:57.570 --> 00:09:01.210 is the one who has been born king of the Jews? 00:09:03.350 --> 00:09:08.850 King of the Jews. Like this thing just vibrated 00:09:08.850 --> 00:09:14.190 a minute ago. It's like, huh? What? King of the 00:09:14.190 --> 00:09:19.019 Jews. We saw his star when it rose and have come 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:23.279 to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:27.299 was what? Disturbed. That's not very disturbed. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.879 He was what? Disturbed. And all Jerusalem with 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:36.360 him. And when Herod realized that he had been 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:40.639 outwitted by the Magi, he was furious. Oh, that's 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:46.519 such a kind furious. He was furious. Look at 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:52.379 that face. And he gave orders to kill all the 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:56.580 boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:01.559 years old and under in accordance with the time 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:12.120 that he had learned from the Magi. So what happened 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:19.100 here? Herod heard about this boy, this birth 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:20.360 that was going to happen. He was going to be 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:24.759 king of the Jews. And he cannot allow that. I 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:30.039 am king of the Jewish people, says Herod. So, 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:34.299 we have to cut them down. We have to prevent 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:37.320 that. We have to stop that. And the kingdom of 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:41.929 Herod does not want... Jesus, if he's still out 00:10:41.929 --> 00:10:44.409 there in Bethlehem, does not want Jesus to grow 00:10:44.409 --> 00:10:48.389 up. So let's just kill everybody, every boy who's 00:10:48.389 --> 00:10:53.309 two years old and under. And that way we're okay. 00:10:54.610 --> 00:10:59.389 But the spirit of the kingdom of Herod continues 00:10:59.389 --> 00:11:05.429 as a manifestation of how the enemy so wants 00:11:05.429 --> 00:11:13.850 us to stop. Our lives. Stunt our growth. Arrest 00:11:13.850 --> 00:11:18.809 our development. Because he doesn't want us to 00:11:18.809 --> 00:11:22.690 grow up. Did you know that? Did you know that 00:11:22.690 --> 00:11:26.710 there is an opposition. That there is a rival 00:11:26.710 --> 00:11:30.309 kingdom. A spiritual kingdom of Herod. Which 00:11:30.309 --> 00:11:33.990 of course is spawned from our enemy Satan. Who 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:39.149 does not want us to grow up. How is that possible? 00:11:44.370 --> 00:11:47.590 Look at the tone and the words in this Hebrews 00:11:47.590 --> 00:11:53.190 passage, which is exposing what happens when 00:11:53.190 --> 00:11:57.429 Herod's spiritual kingdom of not wanting us to 00:11:57.429 --> 00:12:01.129 grow up gets inside of us. This is from Hebrews 00:12:01.129 --> 00:12:07.740 5 .11 to chapter 6 .1a. We have much to say about 00:12:07.740 --> 00:12:10.840 this, but it's hard to make it clear because 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:18.360 you no longer try to understand. In fact, though 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:20.399 by this time you really ought to be teachers, 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:24.240 you need someone to teach you the elementary 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.340 truths of God's word all over again. You need 00:12:27.340 --> 00:12:37.419 milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:43.120 being still an infant, is not acquainted with 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:47.279 the teaching about righteousness. But solid food 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:53.240 is for the mature, who by constant use have trained 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:56.559 themselves to distinguish from good and evil 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:59.019 along that idyllic path. Oh, that's a bad dude. 00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:01.299 That's Jesus. That's good. That's bad. That's 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:05.340 good. Discerning and distinguishing. Between 00:13:05.340 --> 00:13:12.580 good from evil. Therefore. Therefore. Let us 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:18.440 move beyond. The elementary teaching about Christ. 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:27.840 And go on to. What? Maturity. No. You shall not 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:33.580 grow up. You shall stay immature. You shall still 00:13:33.580 --> 00:13:41.509 be. a child and childish, says Herod's kingdom. 00:13:44.789 --> 00:13:50.970 But friends, we are really blessed. If you believe 00:13:50.970 --> 00:13:53.850 that Jesus is your king and he's come for you 00:13:53.850 --> 00:13:56.370 to be your king and he has set up a kingdom for 00:13:56.370 --> 00:13:59.009 us to be in together, if you believe that he 00:13:59.009 --> 00:14:04.019 has provided for us the weapons, that we fight 00:14:04.019 --> 00:14:08.000 with, to not be weapons of this world. On the 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.879 contrary, they have divine power to demolish 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:13.779 strongholds, and that's what that is. That is 00:14:13.779 --> 00:14:18.360 a stronghold. A stronghold, in this case, does 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:21.220 not just mean like the castle of Herod. It means 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:28.779 deeply entrenched, deceptive patterns of thinking 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:36.950 that oppose God's truth. deeply entrenched, deceptive 00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:40.490 patterns of thinking that oppose God's truth. 00:14:41.149 --> 00:14:44.570 Truth about God, truth about you, truth about 00:14:44.570 --> 00:14:47.429 me, truth about this world, truth about who Jesus 00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:50.330 is, truth about what the kingdom is, truth about 00:14:50.330 --> 00:14:54.070 the Bible, everything. It is something that is 00:14:54.070 --> 00:15:00.509 in opposition to that. And they have divine power, 00:15:00.690 --> 00:15:04.759 these weapons do, to demolish strongholds. We 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:09.600 demolish arguments and every pretension that 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:13.200 sets itself up against the knowledge of God and 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.759 take captive every thought to make it obedient 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:23.919 to Christ. No! You shall not grow up! Desperately 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:27.720 yelling out at us, arguing with us, trying to 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:39.519 keep us down. And while Herod and the spirit 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.860 of Herod is saying, no, you shall not grow up, 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:47.279 ECB, what can we say? Yes, we shall grow up. 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:51.299 Could you say that again? Yes, we shall grow 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:59.139 up. What you've just done is you have begun to 00:15:59.139 --> 00:16:02.250 dismantle. A stronghold. Because if you believe 00:16:02.250 --> 00:16:04.570 that Jesus is your king and that he's come to 00:16:04.570 --> 00:16:07.590 set up a kingdom and we are in this kingdom together, 00:16:07.710 --> 00:16:13.070 then the rival kingdom of Herod and the strongholds 00:16:13.070 --> 00:16:16.470 that he brings with that must be torn down. And 00:16:16.470 --> 00:16:21.750 it starts with the proclamation. We will grow. 00:16:24.529 --> 00:16:32.850 We will not stay as children. Zero to two. So 00:16:32.850 --> 00:16:36.190 that you can kill us and stunt our growth. So 00:16:36.190 --> 00:16:41.769 that you can continue to arrest our development. 00:16:42.149 --> 00:16:48.870 No. You say no to us, but we say no to you. And 00:16:48.870 --> 00:16:56.389 we say yes to God. We're going to grow. 1 Corinthians 00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:58.669 13 .11. Would you read this with me? I love this. 00:16:59.500 --> 00:17:04.160 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:09.220 as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:16.160 things. Childish things. Not childlike. Childish 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:20.099 things. It's time to grow up. It's time to want 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:25.700 more. It's time to mature. Despite all the landmines 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:29.799 along the way. Those actually can help us grow. 00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:36.960 There are kingdom wars because there are rival 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:40.240 kingdoms. A personal story about growing up. 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:44.500 I didn't grow up until I was 60 years old. Thank 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:47.079 you for that laugh. I appreciate that. Let me 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:48.940 say it again. I didn't grow up until I was 60 00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:52.819 years old. And the reason I can say that is because 00:17:52.819 --> 00:17:57.950 so much of my life I believe me, trust me, I 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:03.369 performed as an adult. I took on very adult responsibilities 00:18:03.369 --> 00:18:11.089 and did them very well, by the way. I could tell 00:18:11.089 --> 00:18:13.869 you all kinds about ministries and things that 00:18:13.869 --> 00:18:18.690 have gone on that I did. But it wasn't until 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:21.589 I was about 60 that I realized that all these 00:18:21.589 --> 00:18:25.700 little kids from my... explosions that you saw 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:30.759 on the idyllic walk through life. All these little 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:33.079 children, all these little fractured moments 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:37.599 and fractured soul. And when all of this experience 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:44.259 of life, you know, really kind of messed with 00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:48.559 me inside. So there's an adult and then there's 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:54.450 chaos of all these. Little children running around 00:18:54.450 --> 00:19:00.309 inside my soul. But God is good. And God is a 00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:03.990 healer. And God knows how to restore and to bring 00:19:03.990 --> 00:19:07.730 together all those fragmented pieces of our past. 00:19:08.029 --> 00:19:11.849 All those childhood traumas. Because I'm telling 00:19:11.849 --> 00:19:14.589 you, that idyllic path, again, Pastor Pablo, 00:19:14.730 --> 00:19:18.049 I'm so sorry. That idyllic path that we have 00:19:18.049 --> 00:19:23.730 painted for us is fraught. With crises and trouble. 00:19:24.390 --> 00:19:29.710 And there's just going to be crazy stuff that's 00:19:29.710 --> 00:19:32.470 going to happen. But when Jesus is your king 00:19:32.470 --> 00:19:36.529 and you align yourself with the kingdom, God 00:19:36.529 --> 00:19:40.250 brings that and integrates us and makes us whole 00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:45.369 in his kingdom. So that's why we can say what 00:19:45.369 --> 00:19:49.490 we can say to Herod and say, no, I'm growing 00:19:49.490 --> 00:19:53.640 up. And I'm growing up whole. Not fragmented. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.900 But I'm going to be whole. Because that's how 00:19:56.900 --> 00:20:03.559 God made me. Then there's another rival kingdom. 00:20:03.880 --> 00:20:10.279 The kingdom of temporary things. The kingdom 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:13.339 of temporary things. I'm going to ask you as 00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:15.359 we read this next. I'm going to read it for you. 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:18.759 As we read this next scripture. I want you to. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:21.819 Put your finger up, not like this. That's rude. 00:20:23.539 --> 00:20:26.119 Put up your finger and kind of count every time 00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:30.779 that you see the word worry or hear the word 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:32.859 worry, okay? Just kind of every time you hear 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:36.759 it, one, two, and do that, okay? This is the 00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:38.759 kingdom of temporary things. Do they look worried 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:45.059 to you? Yeah. Some of you look pretty worried 00:20:45.059 --> 00:20:49.500 too. I hope this, I hope this, Message is going 00:20:49.500 --> 00:20:55.480 to help you. The kingdom of temporary things. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:58.039 Another rival kingdom besides Herod. Of course, 00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:01.819 coming from the evil one. Matthew 6, 25 to 32. 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:07.779 Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:10.319 life and what you will eat or drink or about 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:13.380 your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more 00:21:13.380 --> 00:21:15.500 important than food and a body more important 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:19.910 than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They 00:21:19.910 --> 00:21:23.849 do not sow or reap or store any away in barns, 00:21:23.849 --> 00:21:26.970 and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are 00:21:26.970 --> 00:21:31.109 you not much more valuable than they? Who of 00:21:31.109 --> 00:21:36.190 you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your 00:21:36.190 --> 00:21:44.910 life? And why do you worry about clothes? See 00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:47.869 how the lilies of the field grow? They do not 00:21:47.869 --> 00:21:51.789 labor or spin, yet I tell you that not even Solomon 00:21:51.789 --> 00:21:55.769 in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 00:21:57.710 --> 00:22:00.690 If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, 00:22:00.750 --> 00:22:03.130 which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into 00:22:03.130 --> 00:22:07.390 the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O 00:22:07.390 --> 00:22:15.150 you of little faith? So, do not worry. saying, 00:22:15.190 --> 00:22:18.029 what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what 00:22:18.029 --> 00:22:22.769 shall we wear? For the pagans, the pagans run 00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:25.450 after all these things and your heavenly father 00:22:25.450 --> 00:22:31.930 knows that you need them. So the new rival kingdom 00:22:31.930 --> 00:22:34.890 is the kingdom of temporary things and what this 00:22:34.890 --> 00:22:40.269 rival kingdom that Satan has set up to oppose 00:22:40.269 --> 00:22:44.619 the kingdom of Jesus. wants us to worry about 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:46.960 all these things. Just like the pagans. And the 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:48.680 pagans worry about all these things, it said. 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:58.279 Wants us to worry about all these things. Before 00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:02.000 I even show you the scripture, despite the fact 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:08.720 that I grew up a little late and matured and 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.660 moving toward maturity a little late in life, 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:18.599 That worry kingdom, that kingdom of temporary 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:22.339 things is really a nasty thing. Don't be fooled 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:26.819 by Herod's. That's really obvious. But this kingdom 00:23:26.819 --> 00:23:29.859 of temporary things and wanting us to worry is 00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:35.039 really, really pesky. And the number of things 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:37.279 in that verse, four, I counted four. Did you 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:41.460 count four worries? Worry, worry, worry, worry. 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:45.059 And for me, My personal testimony to you all 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:49.680 is that Annie and I are missionaries. And when 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:53.480 we started working as missionaries, we didn't 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:56.700 have to raise a single dollar. Not a single dollar. 00:23:56.779 --> 00:24:00.119 Our mission organization paid for everything. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:04.759 And we just went through life here in Bangkok 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:07.799 doing this and doing that and never had to think. 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:12.259 Never had to worry. Never had to do anything 00:24:12.259 --> 00:24:18.480 to raise funds. Only thing we were obligated 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.700 to do was just when we go back for our U .S. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:22.799 assignment, speak in churches, tell them the 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:25.480 good things that God's doing in your ministry. 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:30.380 Well, then things changed. The mission organization 00:24:30.380 --> 00:24:34.779 started not having enough money for everybody. 00:24:36.399 --> 00:24:38.779 People in churches started to leave churches. 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:40.660 People in churches started to be less interested 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:43.980 in some type of global mission and became more 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:47.200 interested in local or maybe not interested at 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:50.539 all. And pretty soon they said, okay, everybody, 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:55.200 you're going to have to raise your own funds. 00:24:56.299 --> 00:25:00.500 But those of you who have been out there for 00:25:00.500 --> 00:25:02.220 a while, we're going to kind of grandfather you 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:07.319 in. Don't worry. Don't worry. you can raise X 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:11.680 percent first. Whatever percent it was, I don't 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:14.099 remember. But it was enough to say, oh, we have 00:25:14.099 --> 00:25:16.359 to raise money. And if you don't raise that money, 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:18.839 then we'll have to call you back to the United 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:21.839 States and we'll have to give you some training 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:25.539 on how to raise money and then maybe you can 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:28.240 go back if you raise that money. And that was 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:30.759 the new reality. And you talk about triggering 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:35.380 that rival kingdom of worry. Every single year 00:25:35.380 --> 00:25:39.259 there is this trigger and this temptation to 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:42.619 spiral down into worry. Do we have enough support? 00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:46.140 Do we have the money we need to be here according 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:51.299 to our mission's perspective? I am confessing 00:25:51.299 --> 00:25:55.920 to you. I am confessing to you that I have worried 00:25:55.920 --> 00:26:01.039 a lot about this. I want to stay here. I want 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:02.980 to keep working. I want to keep serving the Lord. 00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:05.039 I want to keep doing this. But I have to look 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.819 at these numbers that say, oh, I'm still short 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:09.920 after all that, after that little campaign we 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:17.559 just did and everything. And the rival kingdom 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:23.019 of worry, rubbing his hands and saying, exactly. 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:33.660 Worry more. These little things worry more. Well, 00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:38.279 I just share that as my personal struggle as 00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:40.539 a missionary. And any of you who ever had to 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:43.740 raise funds for yourself or for an organization, 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:46.240 you probably can understand what I'm talking 00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:54.579 about. Let's look at some scripture. But seek 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:58.789 first his kingdom. And his righteousness. And 00:26:58.789 --> 00:27:01.269 all these things will be given to you as well. 00:27:02.569 --> 00:27:09.289 No. Not. You must seek these things first. That's 00:27:09.289 --> 00:27:11.890 what the kingdom of temporary things says. Seek 00:27:11.890 --> 00:27:14.710 these things first. Don't seek first the kingdom 00:27:14.710 --> 00:27:21.170 of God. Are you crazy? Look to the Lord. Look 00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:25.230 to the Lord in his strength. Seek his face. Always, 00:27:25.230 --> 00:27:29.109 says 1 Chronicles 16, 11. No, look at this face. 00:27:29.230 --> 00:27:33.029 I'm worried. Keep that face. Keep that worried 00:27:33.029 --> 00:27:36.369 face. Walk around worried. People will know you're 00:27:36.369 --> 00:27:37.750 worried about something. Maybe they'll give you 00:27:37.750 --> 00:27:43.150 money. No, look to the Lord and His strength 00:27:43.150 --> 00:27:49.690 and seek His face always. Jeremiah 29, 3. You 00:27:49.690 --> 00:27:54.789 will seek me and find me when you seek me. with 00:27:54.789 --> 00:28:00.609 all of your heart. No! You must divide your heart. 00:28:01.430 --> 00:28:02.950 You've got stuff you've got to do. You've got 00:28:02.950 --> 00:28:09.269 to raise money. Seek me with all your heart. 00:28:11.170 --> 00:28:14.710 Seek me with all your heart. Not the temporary 00:28:14.710 --> 00:28:19.769 things. Not the missionary goal to raise X amount 00:28:19.769 --> 00:28:26.950 of money in time for the... Seek me. And what 00:28:26.950 --> 00:28:29.950 do we say again? How do we deal with this? Well, 00:28:30.029 --> 00:28:34.890 we demolish arguments. We demolish arguments 00:28:34.890 --> 00:28:37.289 and every pretension that sets itself against 00:28:37.289 --> 00:28:40.109 the knowledge of God, and we take captive every 00:28:40.109 --> 00:28:42.750 thought and make it obedient to Christ. We did 00:28:42.750 --> 00:28:45.089 that with Herod, who doesn't want us to grow 00:28:45.089 --> 00:28:48.410 up, and now we're going to do that with worry. 00:28:49.390 --> 00:28:53.289 Amen? That worry, worry, worry, worry, worry, 00:28:53.289 --> 00:28:55.410 worry. We demolish those arguments and say that 00:28:55.410 --> 00:28:57.650 we have to be worried. This is a worrisome thing 00:28:57.650 --> 00:29:03.470 and keep worrying four times. We demolish arguments 00:29:03.470 --> 00:29:06.410 and every pretense sets itself up against the 00:29:06.410 --> 00:29:09.390 knowledge of God and we take captive every thought 00:29:09.390 --> 00:29:18.509 to make it obedient to Christ. Well, the kingdom 00:29:18.509 --> 00:29:21.960 of temporary things is saying, No, we will seek 00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:24.960 the kingdom of temporary things. ECB, what do 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:29.599 you say? No, we will seek first the kingdom of 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:33.900 God. Say it again. No, we will seek first the 00:29:33.900 --> 00:29:37.619 kingdom of God. One more time. No, we will seek 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:43.980 first the kingdom of God. Amen. By that time, 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:45.539 we're not even thinking about all of these things, 00:29:45.579 --> 00:29:48.279 are we? We're just seeking the kingdom of God. 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:57.259 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. 00:29:58.339 --> 00:30:00.720 And all these things will be added to you as 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:09.359 well. Praise God. There are rival, there are 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:11.759 kingdom wars because there are rival kingdoms. 00:30:12.599 --> 00:30:15.660 Let's take a look at one last one. The kingdom 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:23.539 of Kronos. The kingdom of Kronos time. Yes. Kronos, 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:26.299 the kind of time that is measurable, sequential 00:30:26.299 --> 00:30:31.039 passage of time, clocks, calendars, hours, days, 00:30:31.339 --> 00:30:35.680 years. I wonder what that sneaky little kingdom 00:30:35.680 --> 00:30:43.359 is up to, that rival kingdom. James 4 .13 gives 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:45.039 us a little bit of a hint of what that might 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:48.220 look like if we were to give ourselves over. 00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:51.799 To that kingdom. Instead of proclaiming Jesus 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:55.720 as king. And we are aligned with his kingdom. 00:30:56.519 --> 00:31:01.740 In James 4 .13. Today or tomorrow. We will go 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:05.099 to this or that city. And we're going to spend 00:31:05.099 --> 00:31:07.220 a year there. And we're going to carry on business. 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:11.920 And we're going to make money. I got it in my 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:23.299 calendar. I got it in my planner. Luke 12, 18 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:26.460 and 19. This is what we'll do. This is what I'll 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:29.039 do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:32.000 ones. And there I'll store all my grain and my 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:35.039 goods. And I'll say to myself, you have plenty 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:40.000 of good things laid up for you many years. Take 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:46.099 life easy. Eat, drink and be merry. That's in 00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:49.819 my calendar. Going out to eat tomorrow. Because 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:57.640 I got everything I need. It's all set. Psalm 00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:00.200 9010. Moses kind of drops a little bit of reality 00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:05.960 on the measurable time and passages in his psalm 00:32:05.960 --> 00:32:11.099 here. The length of our days is 70 years or 80. 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:14.799 Those of you who are over 80, congratulations. 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:19.509 You have proved Moses wrong. Okay. The length 00:32:19.509 --> 00:32:23.910 of our days is 70 years or 80 if we have the 00:32:23.910 --> 00:32:29.450 strength. Yet their span is but trouble and sorrow 00:32:29.450 --> 00:32:34.369 for they quickly pass and we fly away. So Moses 00:32:34.369 --> 00:32:38.589 gives the sobering account of this Kronos in 00:32:38.589 --> 00:32:45.670 our lives. The rival kingdom of Kronos, time 00:32:45.670 --> 00:32:53.829 wants us to be. Wants us to be bound to measuring 00:32:53.829 --> 00:32:58.329 sequential passages of time, clocks, calendars, 00:32:58.369 --> 00:33:06.549 hours, days. And does not want us to get involved 00:33:06.549 --> 00:33:11.369 with something else that's called Kairos. Kairos 00:33:11.369 --> 00:33:17.039 is God's time. Kairos is something that... might 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:22.539 use the time of Kronos, but is God's timing and 00:33:22.539 --> 00:33:28.420 time appointment. Therefore, from Ephesians 5, 00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:32.180 15 to 16, therefore be careful how you walk, 00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:36.819 not as unwise people, but as wise, making the 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:41.359 most, making the most of your time, that word 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:44.859 time is kairos. Making the most of the opportunity 00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:48.039 that God gives you. Making the most of this episode 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:55.420 that God is giving you. Making the most of this 00:33:55.420 --> 00:34:00.859 period, this time that is not bound to the clock. 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:06.920 Make the most of your time because the days, 00:34:07.140 --> 00:34:14.260 Kronos, are evil. Make the most of the kairos 00:34:14.260 --> 00:34:17.960 because the kronos, the days, the calendar, those 00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:21.440 can bring about evil things. Everybody has to 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:23.639 plan. Everybody has to put stuff in a calendar. 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:30.219 I get that. But God wants to meet us in a kairos 00:34:30.219 --> 00:34:32.960 moment, in an opportunity. And we need to make 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:35.519 the most of those moments. The rival kingdom 00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:43.719 says, no, you've got to stick to the time. You 00:34:43.719 --> 00:34:47.840 keep your own time in rebuttal to Psalm 31, 14 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:52.500 to 15. But I trust you, O Lord. I say you are 00:34:52.500 --> 00:34:56.280 my God and my times, every way that I can think 00:34:56.280 --> 00:34:59.539 of the word time, my times are in your hands. 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:04.659 Deliver me from my enemies and those who pursue 00:35:04.659 --> 00:35:12.369 me. No, you must keep your own time. Keep your 00:35:12.369 --> 00:35:14.849 own time. Keep track of your own time. Do your 00:35:14.849 --> 00:35:16.829 own thing. Write it down in your own calendar. 00:35:17.190 --> 00:35:21.269 That's what you do. That's the rival kingdom 00:35:21.269 --> 00:35:27.889 of Kronos. And once again, how do we deal with 00:35:27.889 --> 00:35:32.670 this? We demolish arguments and every pretension 00:35:32.670 --> 00:35:36.190 that sets itself up against the knowledge of 00:35:36.190 --> 00:35:41.000 God and we take captive every thought. To make 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:47.000 it obedience to Christ. No. You are bound to 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:50.480 Kronos. The rival kingdom says. You are bound 00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:53.219 to Kronos. Don't fool yourself. You can talk 00:35:53.219 --> 00:35:56.440 about Kairos all you want. But Kronos is how 00:35:56.440 --> 00:35:59.880 we live in reality. Okay. Can you just picture 00:35:59.880 --> 00:36:03.639 this? If you have children who go to school. 00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:06.619 Honey. Time to wake up. You have to go to school. 00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:15.119 I'm on Kairos time today daddy. I'm not going 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:18.300 to go to school until God gives me that opportune 00:36:18.300 --> 00:36:22.000 time to say it's the right time to go to school. 00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:26.840 No. You're going to get your Kronos out of bed 00:36:26.840 --> 00:36:33.039 and you're going to go to school. Okay, obviously 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:36.099 God, if we put all our times in God's hands, 00:36:36.300 --> 00:36:38.980 we're saying both the Kronos and the Kairos, 00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:42.300 that belongs to God. And God said, there are 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:45.260 some things I need you to do. In Kronos. I need 00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:47.579 you to get up. I need you to go to school. I 00:36:47.579 --> 00:36:49.219 need you to go to all your classes. I need you 00:36:49.219 --> 00:36:50.940 to do your homework. Turn your stuff in on time. 00:36:51.219 --> 00:36:53.940 And guess what I'm going to do. I'm going to 00:36:53.940 --> 00:36:56.179 do a boom. I'm going to do a Kairos in the middle 00:36:56.179 --> 00:36:58.760 of your Kronos. That's going to just be amazing. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:03.139 And you're going to on your way to work. Or in 00:37:03.139 --> 00:37:05.099 the middle of your work day. Because you had 00:37:05.099 --> 00:37:06.900 to be there at 9 o 'clock. And check out at 5. 00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:10.840 You're going to get the Kairos. And it's going 00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:12.340 to happen. You wait for it. You look for that. 00:37:12.940 --> 00:37:15.639 While you're doing your Kronos. But don't let 00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:21.659 that Kronos bind you. We demolish arguments and 00:37:21.659 --> 00:37:25.159 every pretension that sets itself up against 00:37:25.159 --> 00:37:27.579 the knowledge of God. And we take captive every 00:37:27.579 --> 00:37:30.860 thought and make it obedient to Christ. Okay, 00:37:30.920 --> 00:37:36.559 ECB. Kronos is saying, no, I will tell you what 00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:40.219 time it is. And that's what time it is. So what 00:37:40.219 --> 00:37:45.460 do we say, ECB? No. We trust God for his timing. 00:37:45.500 --> 00:37:49.719 Say it again. No. We trust God for his timing. 00:37:49.860 --> 00:38:00.519 Amen. Mark 115. The time has come. The time has 00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:06.239 come, he said. The kingdom of God is near. It's 00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:11.679 come. It's here and near. Here and near. Repent. 00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:19.739 and believe the good news. Yeah, sure. I have 00:38:19.739 --> 00:38:26.320 exploded with many explosions, the idyllic walk 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:31.039 through the forest, growing spiritually. I've 00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:37.179 done that. But know this. Know this. There are 00:38:37.179 --> 00:38:40.280 kingdom wars. There are rival kingdoms, but... 00:38:42.380 --> 00:38:50.860 You are to call him Jesus. He will be and will 00:38:50.860 --> 00:38:54.860 be called the son of the most high. The Lord 00:38:54.860 --> 00:38:59.139 God will give him the throne of his father David 00:38:59.139 --> 00:39:03.940 and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. 00:39:04.320 --> 00:39:09.360 His kingdom will never. His kingdom will never. 00:39:09.539 --> 00:39:14.800 His kingdom will never. Praise God. That's the 00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:17.079 kingdom I want to be a part of. I know they're 00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:19.639 going to keep launching bombs at me from these 00:39:19.639 --> 00:39:23.440 rival kingdoms. But I want to say Jesus is my 00:39:23.440 --> 00:39:26.940 king. And I want to walk in his kingdom. Because 00:39:26.940 --> 00:39:29.079 that's the only way I'm going to get to the other 00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:31.760 side of that little path that Pastor Pablo has 00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:57.389 drawn for us. If God is calling you to support 00:39:57.389 --> 00:39:59.929 our ministries, you will find giving options 00:39:59.929 --> 00:40:03.809 on our website. And remember to join us next 00:40:03.809 --> 00:40:05.469 week. God bless you.