WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.360 heads and pray with me dear heavenly father we 00:00:01.360 --> 00:00:04.000 just thank you for today god we thank you for 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.480 the opportunity to be in your house to gather 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.599 together as your people to worship your holy 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:11.919 name god we understand in your word that you 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:14.300 promised where two or three or more are gathered 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.620 that there you are and so god we know that you 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:20.039 are in this place today god just says we just 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:23.199 saying god let us be aware of what you are doing 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:26.000 May your Holy Spirit just speak to us and guide 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.000 us as we examine your words, as we look into 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:30.899 what you would have to say for us. God, may it 00:00:30.899 --> 00:00:32.939 not just be my words said this morning, but God, 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:38.219 may I be a mouthpiece for your truth. God, I 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:41.840 pray to remove the distractions of the week, 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:46.039 to help us intensely focus on who you are, that 00:00:46.039 --> 00:00:48.469 God, you would... highlight and illuminate areas 00:00:48.469 --> 00:00:50.369 in our life that needs change that god would 00:00:50.369 --> 00:00:52.409 be able to worship you and celebrate areas of 00:00:52.409 --> 00:00:55.670 blessings that you have given us but god today 00:00:55.670 --> 00:00:58.549 may you just help us to focus on who you are 00:00:58.549 --> 00:01:01.570 and may we our lives change as we look to you 00:01:01.570 --> 00:01:05.329 in jesus name i pray amen well if you have your 00:01:05.329 --> 00:01:08.310 bible i invite you to turn to revelation 2 we'll 00:01:08.310 --> 00:01:10.890 be looking at 12 through 17 no i'm not daniel 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:14.370 he has not gotten bald and old because of church 00:01:14.370 --> 00:01:17.010 camp So in case you don't know who I am, I'm 00:01:17.010 --> 00:01:20.010 Josh Bledsoe. It is my privilege to preach with 00:01:20.010 --> 00:01:21.870 you. My family and I have been attending here 00:01:21.870 --> 00:01:25.269 off and on about three and a half months. I think 00:01:25.269 --> 00:01:27.109 it's important you guys know a little bit about 00:01:27.109 --> 00:01:30.390 who's preaching to you. I've already been told 00:01:30.390 --> 00:01:32.469 to try and stay within the camera, so I'm going 00:01:32.469 --> 00:01:36.409 to try. I wander when I preach, and I'm going 00:01:36.409 --> 00:01:38.349 to try not to fall off the front of the stage. 00:01:38.969 --> 00:01:41.230 I've not done that yet, so that would be a first. 00:01:42.890 --> 00:01:45.310 So like I said, my name is Josh Bledsoe. I was 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:47.609 a pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Monticello 00:01:47.609 --> 00:01:50.129 just down the road for almost eight years before 00:01:50.129 --> 00:01:53.269 God called me to my current position with IBSA 00:01:53.269 --> 00:01:56.909 where I helped work as a director of church health 00:01:56.909 --> 00:01:59.250 and revitalization. So I work with churches to 00:01:59.250 --> 00:02:02.109 bring renewal and revitalization. We host different 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:06.909 weekends, but originally I was saved in a church, 00:02:07.049 --> 00:02:09.409 First Baptist Church in Effingham, Illinois. 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:12.860 And I remember in that service, I was sitting 00:02:12.860 --> 00:02:15.879 on my right -hand side over here, and I was sitting 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:18.259 on the end, and it was the fourth pew back. And 00:02:18.259 --> 00:02:20.379 we had pews back then, not these comfy chairs. 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:22.900 We had pews. I think it's to make sure you didn't 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:26.139 fall asleep during church. But I sat back there, 00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:27.860 and I don't remember what the pastor preached 00:02:27.860 --> 00:02:30.560 on that day. I wish I could tell you. I wish 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:32.039 I could go back and think through everything 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:34.120 and be like, here's exactly what he said. Here's 00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:36.560 how he presented the gospel. I know he did present 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:39.259 the gospel. I just don't know what he says. But 00:02:39.259 --> 00:02:42.139 at the end, here's what I remember. I remember 00:02:42.139 --> 00:02:45.919 thinking to myself, the people around me had 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.960 something I didn't. There was something in the 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.479 lives of my parents, something in the lives of 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:54.300 my Sunday school teachers and the other people 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:57.180 in church that was different from my life, and 00:02:57.180 --> 00:03:02.289 I desperately needed what they had. So as soon 00:03:02.289 --> 00:03:04.669 as the pastor said, we are going to stand and 00:03:04.669 --> 00:03:10.110 begin our invitation, I ran out of the pew to 00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:13.110 run to the front. Because I knew if I could talk 00:03:13.110 --> 00:03:16.210 to the pastor, I could learn what I needed to 00:03:16.210 --> 00:03:19.050 do. And in those moments, I gave my life to Jesus 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.689 Christ. I'm sure my parents were scared because 00:03:21.689 --> 00:03:24.990 I was an ornery kid. I'm sure they thought, what 00:03:24.990 --> 00:03:26.729 in the world is he doing running to the front 00:03:26.729 --> 00:03:29.909 of the church? But man, I was excited for Jesus. 00:03:30.990 --> 00:03:32.689 I wish I could tell you that that excitement 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:35.750 continued all the way through my life, but God 00:03:35.750 --> 00:03:37.729 actually called me into vocational ministry when 00:03:37.729 --> 00:03:41.330 I was 16 years old. I was a junior in high school, 00:03:41.449 --> 00:03:46.069 but God said, I want you to be a pastor. And 00:03:46.069 --> 00:03:48.569 I told God, I don't think I want to be a pastor. 00:03:49.150 --> 00:03:51.669 Because my dream, now this is super nerdy, okay? 00:03:52.129 --> 00:03:55.150 Joe, don't take offense to this, but it's okay. 00:03:56.449 --> 00:04:00.409 I'm a music nerd through and through. I wanted 00:04:00.409 --> 00:04:03.270 to be a high school band director ever since 00:04:03.270 --> 00:04:05.810 I was a little kid. Like I said, super nerdy, 00:04:05.830 --> 00:04:08.129 but that's what I wanted to do. So I told God, 00:04:08.250 --> 00:04:11.250 God, I don't want to be a pastor. I will do ministry 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:17.230 on the side, but I want to teach band. So I went 00:04:17.230 --> 00:04:19.350 to Eastern Illinois University. I was there for 00:04:19.350 --> 00:04:22.310 five years. Yes, you heard that right. Five years 00:04:22.310 --> 00:04:25.230 for my undergrad. Graduated there with a music 00:04:25.230 --> 00:04:28.610 education degree in voice and trumpet. taught 00:04:28.610 --> 00:04:31.569 high school band for four years in vandalia illinois 00:04:31.569 --> 00:04:35.029 and while i was there god reaffirmed my calling 00:04:35.029 --> 00:04:38.810 in the pastoral ministry and i left to become 00:04:38.810 --> 00:04:40.930 a student and worship pastor at a small church 00:04:40.930 --> 00:04:43.430 and then god called me to my home church where 00:04:43.430 --> 00:04:46.670 i served for nine years as their student pastor 00:04:46.670 --> 00:04:50.389 before graduating with a master's degree going 00:04:50.389 --> 00:04:55.709 on and pastoring at calvary god can do amazing 00:04:55.709 --> 00:04:58.860 things But I think sometimes we get so distracted 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:01.920 in our own ideas, in our own agendas, we miss 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:06.000 what God has planned for us. I praise God in 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.300 my context. He renewed that calling that I didn't 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:11.399 miss out on something he had in store for me. 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:13.939 I think about a lot, though. What if I would 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:15.540 have responded? Where would I be now? What would 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:18.800 my life look like if I would have responded to 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:22.879 that initial call? But I praise God for how he's 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:25.800 used me since then. Today, we're going to look. 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:28.600 at this passage in Pergamum, and we've been going 00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:30.279 through the seven churches, and it's interesting, 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:34.199 I preached a series on these back in 2020, and 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:40.000 so my sermon series was called 2020 Vision, where 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.220 we are going to go as a church, and then something 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:46.160 happened that no one ever saw, except God, and 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:48.279 so that kind of derailed lots of stuff, but I 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:51.779 love these passages, because here Jesus is sending 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.959 this message to his churches. To his people. 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:58.860 And yes, these are letters that are written thousands 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:02.500 of years ago. 1900 years ago. But yet there's 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:03.959 so much information for us today. And there's 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:06.399 information for us as believers. So if you have 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.459 your Bible, I invite you to stand in honor of 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:12.139 the word of God as I read this morning from Revelation 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:17.279 2, beginning in verse 12. And to the angel of 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:20.019 the church in Pergamum write, the words of him 00:06:20.019 --> 00:06:23.100 who has the sharp two -edged sword, I know where 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:25.959 you dwell. where Satan's throne is, yet you hold 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:29.639 fast to my name. And you did not deny my faith, 00:06:29.699 --> 00:06:32.000 even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.459 who was killed among you where Satan dwells. 00:06:34.819 --> 00:06:38.439 But I have a few things against you. You have 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:40.600 some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:42.699 taught Balak to put a stumbling block before 00:06:42.699 --> 00:06:45.240 the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.240 sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.300 So also you have some who hold to the teaching 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:54.980 of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:58.040 I will come to you soon and war against them 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.139 with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:03.459 let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:06.459 To the one who conquers, I will give some of 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:08.399 the hidden manna and I will give him a white 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:10.740 stone with a new name written on the stone that 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:13.360 no one knows except the one who receives it. 00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:16.259 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your words. 00:07:17.090 --> 00:07:18.930 God, we thank you for your truth. God, today 00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:22.170 as we look at these, may your truth just be brought 00:07:22.170 --> 00:07:24.730 to the surface. God, we seek to honor you in 00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:27.389 everything that we do. So God, may this sermon 00:07:27.389 --> 00:07:29.889 and may this message be yours. And God, we look 00:07:29.889 --> 00:07:32.250 for your direction. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 00:07:32.730 --> 00:07:36.310 If you'll please have a seat. So Pergamum was 00:07:36.310 --> 00:07:40.069 an interesting place. My wife and I had the privilege 00:07:40.069 --> 00:07:44.079 of going to Pergamum about... 10 years ago. And 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.879 they are well known for what they call emperor 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:50.000 worship. And so we know a lot about, you know, 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:51.740 the nation of Rome and they had all these different 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:53.319 gods and we hear about them. You hear about Zeus 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:55.480 and you hear about all those. They also worshiped 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:57.560 the emperor. It'd be like us today worshiping 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:01.420 the president of the United States. What is interesting 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:04.000 at Pergamum, they had a well -known temple to 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.980 Zeus there, but at one time they had the most 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:09.500 well -known emperor temple where people from 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:13.149 all over Rome would journey. to worship and give 00:08:13.149 --> 00:08:16.029 sacrifice to the emperor of Rome at the time. 00:08:16.110 --> 00:08:18.649 And they were very proud of this. And so because 00:08:18.649 --> 00:08:20.649 of that, Rome recognized them and they gave them 00:08:20.649 --> 00:08:24.389 this nice stone, white stone tablet that they 00:08:24.389 --> 00:08:26.889 would put on display that recognized Pergamum 00:08:26.889 --> 00:08:30.589 as a place that honored and worshiped the emperor 00:08:30.589 --> 00:08:35.169 above all others. Well, for Pergamum, eventually 00:08:35.169 --> 00:08:38.009 another community decided to build a better temple. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:42.659 And so they then got this white stone. So Pergamum, 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:44.460 in their pride, decides, well, we can't have 00:08:44.460 --> 00:08:47.500 that. We're going to build a bigger temple and 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:51.440 a bigger church than that one. So Rome gave them 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:53.799 their white stone back. They're very prideful. 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:59.399 They were prideful in their sinfulness. And as 00:08:59.399 --> 00:09:01.659 we look at these, this is the word. And I love 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:04.379 how these letters always have some connection 00:09:04.379 --> 00:09:06.990 to the community. Some connection to the town 00:09:06.990 --> 00:09:08.649 and the sinfulness or the problems that are going 00:09:08.649 --> 00:09:11.389 on, but yet it is connected then to the church. 00:09:12.129 --> 00:09:14.529 And so for them, he is encouraging them with 00:09:14.529 --> 00:09:16.649 this, get a new stone, and we'll talk about that 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:20.710 later. But I love this identification of who 00:09:20.710 --> 00:09:23.850 Jesus is. The words of him who has the sharp 00:09:23.850 --> 00:09:28.669 two -edged sword. This is a call to the scripture 00:09:28.669 --> 00:09:31.389 where the Bible, the word of God, is sharp like 00:09:31.389 --> 00:09:33.629 a two -edged sword. I don't know if you know 00:09:33.629 --> 00:09:38.210 much about Roman If you think about swords in 00:09:38.210 --> 00:09:40.429 the day, I thought about bringing a broadsword 00:09:40.429 --> 00:09:44.070 I have. It stands about this tall, and it would 00:09:44.070 --> 00:09:47.629 make a nice public display and visual. But Rome 00:09:47.629 --> 00:09:49.549 didn't use those. They used these little short 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:51.990 ones. They're about maybe 18 inches, 12 to 18 00:09:51.990 --> 00:09:56.629 inches long. And it was two -edged, which means 00:09:56.629 --> 00:09:58.870 you can pierce with it, but it would cut this 00:09:58.870 --> 00:10:00.330 way, it would cut this way, and they would use 00:10:00.330 --> 00:10:04.009 a shield. And then they could be very... and 00:10:04.009 --> 00:10:05.909 hit exactly where they wanted to hit with this 00:10:05.909 --> 00:10:08.909 sword. It's like the word of God. Have you ever 00:10:08.909 --> 00:10:11.210 been reading the Bible and it tells you something 00:10:11.210 --> 00:10:15.629 that is so personal? And it's a message that 00:10:15.629 --> 00:10:17.830 just hits home and it's like, God, I needed to 00:10:17.830 --> 00:10:20.809 hear that today. It's like that two -edged sword. 00:10:20.990 --> 00:10:26.070 It hits right where it needs to be. That two 00:10:26.070 --> 00:10:29.370 -edged sword could also hurt and damage. The 00:10:29.370 --> 00:10:33.019 word of God. brings to light our weaknesses and 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:36.399 our problems, our shortcomings. But here's what 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:39.259 I love about Jesus. While Satan brings these 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:42.440 shortcomings up to try and destroy us, Jesus 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:44.500 brings these up for forgiveness and redemption. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.740 It's not about our destruction. It's about our 00:10:48.740 --> 00:10:52.460 redemption to him. And so these words, that's 00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:54.100 what it does. And so today, as we've read this, 00:10:54.139 --> 00:10:56.059 I want to encourage you. The first thing the 00:10:56.059 --> 00:10:59.419 church in Pergamum hears is there's... an encouragement 00:10:59.419 --> 00:11:02.679 for how they have endured an extreme difficulty. 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:07.820 So today, you can be faithful amongst difficulty. 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:12.220 At Pergamum, they have all sorts of things going 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:17.120 on. This faithful witness, Antipas, he is faithfully 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.480 witnessing and ministering to the people of Pergamum, 00:11:21.539 --> 00:11:26.500 but yet he is put to death because of that. Talk 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:29.899 about extreme difficulty. But that still happens 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:32.080 around our world today. In fact, if you would 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:34.000 go to the Middle East to share your faith, there 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.299 is a chance you could be put to death for simply 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:39.820 declaring to be a Christian. There are places 00:11:39.820 --> 00:11:42.379 around the world where their life hangs in the 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:44.399 balance, where today we can gather and we don't 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:47.039 have to worry about someone coming in and hurting 00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:48.799 us because we're here to declare the name of 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.320 Jesus Christ. But that is not true in so many 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:55.730 other places around the world. But man, we face 00:11:55.730 --> 00:11:59.070 so many other difficulties, don't we? We face 00:11:59.070 --> 00:12:02.809 an ever -increasing challenge to share our faith 00:12:02.809 --> 00:12:07.009 in a secular world. In fact, I've been to conferences, 00:12:07.029 --> 00:12:09.970 and now you are actually better equipped to share 00:12:09.970 --> 00:12:12.350 your faith in America if you are trained as an 00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:15.129 international missionary than as if you grew 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:18.490 up here. Just because we live in a culture that 00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:21.269 is no longer the culture that at least people 00:12:21.269 --> 00:12:24.220 like me grew up with. Some of you have not grown 00:12:24.220 --> 00:12:26.740 up in a Christian culture necessarily your entire 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:31.460 life. But we have difficulties. There's difficulties 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:35.419 in life, isn't there? Do you know that since 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:39.659 COVID, that depression and anxiety has skyrocketed? 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:46.200 It's difficult. Life is hard. But I want to encourage 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:51.379 you. It is possible to remain faithful in any... 00:12:52.849 --> 00:12:55.370 difficulty. These people in Pergamum, while they 00:12:55.370 --> 00:12:57.769 were there, they were able to stay faithful, 00:12:57.970 --> 00:13:00.909 many of them, even in spite of the difficulty. 00:13:01.129 --> 00:13:04.110 The friends they knew, Antipas lost his life, 00:13:04.169 --> 00:13:07.990 but yet they remained faithful to the case of 00:13:07.990 --> 00:13:14.309 Christ. We can remain faithful. Have you ever 00:13:14.309 --> 00:13:18.029 been made fun of for your Christian faith? I 00:13:18.029 --> 00:13:20.200 remember I was going around And I was helping 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:21.820 another church. We were doing a survey of the 00:13:21.820 --> 00:13:23.399 area, just trying to figure out how many people 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:25.120 went to church and where. And so we were going 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:27.620 around. One of the things I did and challenged 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:29.940 my people as a youth pastor, I said, don't just 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:31.779 go up and ask them questions, but at the end, 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:34.220 ask how you can pray for them. Because we want 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:35.740 to be an encouragement. It's not just about getting 00:13:35.740 --> 00:13:37.500 numbers. We want to minister to the people in 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:41.059 the community. I remember going to a door and 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:44.039 asking them if I could pray for them. And they 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:47.100 said, no, I'm good. And they slammed the door 00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:50.580 in my face. I had another lady who said, no, 00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:52.059 I've already been to church this morning. I don't 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:54.539 need any more prayers. I really wanted to say, 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:57.259 I need as many prayers as I can get. So maybe 00:13:57.259 --> 00:14:02.240 you can pray for me. I didn't. But man, it's 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:05.019 discouraging when you're trying to love on somebody, 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:06.700 when you're trying to connect and all you get 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:10.740 is a door slammed in your face. Or maybe you 00:14:10.740 --> 00:14:13.480 stand up and declare the word of God amongst 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.360 a group of friends and you get ridiculed because 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:22.509 of it. There are prices to pay for standing for 00:14:22.509 --> 00:14:26.710 our faith. But we need to remain faithful. It's 00:14:26.710 --> 00:14:28.409 possible. We don't have to give in to the things 00:14:28.409 --> 00:14:30.529 of the world. Even though they surround us all 00:14:30.529 --> 00:14:32.450 the time, we don't have to get in. We can remain 00:14:32.450 --> 00:14:37.889 faithful. But I would encourage you today, we 00:14:37.889 --> 00:14:43.169 need to have grace in that struggle. I think 00:14:43.169 --> 00:14:45.429 it's so easy for us to be really hard on ourselves. 00:14:47.289 --> 00:14:49.509 So I'm currently going through doctoral work. 00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:52.639 Daniel's actually ahead of me in his doctoral 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:55.100 work, so pray for him as he's writing his dissertation. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:58.700 I still have half of my doctoral work to do. 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:04.419 But in my class, I was eight weeks in, nine weeks 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:10.080 in, and I had not missed a single point. I had 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.559 had a perfect 100 % in my class, and man, I was 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:16.889 excited because that never happens. And I'm like, 00:15:16.929 --> 00:15:19.169 I'm going to make it through this entire semester 00:15:19.169 --> 00:15:22.370 and I'm going to have a perfect score because 00:15:22.370 --> 00:15:27.190 I can do it because I am so awesome. Then I got 00:15:27.190 --> 00:15:31.950 my grade back. I had a 99 out of 100 on an assignment. 00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:37.690 All because of one dumb mistake. You know, we 00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:39.450 beat ourselves up for even dumb stuff. And you're 00:15:39.450 --> 00:15:41.549 probably thinking like, what a ridiculous story. 00:15:41.850 --> 00:15:45.700 How can you be mad for missing one point? Because 00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:48.919 I wasn't perfect. Because I messed up. Because 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:51.580 I wanted to be perfect. But man, we want to do 00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:54.480 the right thing, don't we? You want to do the 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:56.620 right things in your life. You want to have all 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:59.019 the things going in the right direction. You 00:15:59.019 --> 00:16:02.580 want to obey God. I want to do all those things. 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:04.580 Man, I want to be the best father I can be. I 00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:06.919 want to be the best husband I can be. I want 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:10.240 to be the best employee I can be. And man, I 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.419 can strive and strive and strive, and I want 00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:14.399 to do all those things to the highest capability. 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:19.840 But guess what? We're all human. We're all going 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:23.639 to fail. So parents, look at the kids sitting 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:27.399 around you. They are going to mess up. It's okay. 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:31.019 Children, look at your parents around you. They 00:16:31.019 --> 00:16:34.460 are going to mess up. It's okay. We need to have 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:39.179 grace. God gives grace. We need to give ourselves 00:16:39.179 --> 00:16:42.779 grace. Now, that doesn't mean we excuse sinfulness. 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:46.480 In fact, in 1 John 1, 9, we are told this is 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.360 how we receive grace. If we confess our sins, 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:53.039 he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:57.600 to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.700 not just about giving yourself grace and continuing 00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:03.779 to do the same thing. Confession has this idea 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:07.669 of going to God and saying, God, I am. broken 00:17:07.669 --> 00:17:13.410 over my sinfulness. You know what? As kids, we 00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:16.190 say sorry a lot. When I was growing up, I told 00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:18.529 my parents sorry all the time. Do you know what 00:17:18.529 --> 00:17:23.029 my sorry normally meant? My sorry was normally, 00:17:23.069 --> 00:17:26.369 I'm sorry that I got caught. I wasn't really 00:17:26.369 --> 00:17:29.470 sorry for my actions. I was just sorry that I 00:17:29.470 --> 00:17:31.490 got caught because I don't want to be in trouble. 00:17:31.650 --> 00:17:34.799 Mom, I'm sorry I took those extra cookies. Well, 00:17:34.819 --> 00:17:36.380 guess what? Tomorrow I'm going to go back and 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:38.380 try and get more extra cookies. I'm just going 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:41.359 to be sneakier about it. I wasn't really sorry. 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:46.119 I was just sorry they had caught me. That's not 00:17:46.119 --> 00:17:48.519 what we're talking about here. To confess, to 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:50.740 say, God, I'm broken over my sinfulness and turn 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:54.519 away from it. That kind of grace. And when we 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:57.240 take our shortcomings to God and we run to him 00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:00.299 and say, God, I confess I am sorry for the things 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:05.259 that I have done. God, forgive me. and help me 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:09.579 to live for you there is grace and forgiveness 00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:14.759 in that sentiment satan is really great at bringing 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:18.440 up our shortcomings isn't he he's really good 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:21.339 at recalling those things of you know what god 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:22.920 wants you to do that but remember what you did 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:26.819 last time you're doing pretty well now but remember 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:30.819 this is the difference between satan and jesus 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:34.529 satan brings stuff up to make us be held down, 00:18:34.569 --> 00:18:38.170 to stop us from doing things. Jesus enlightens 00:18:38.170 --> 00:18:40.430 shortcomings in our lives so they can be forgiven 00:18:40.430 --> 00:18:42.950 and he can redeem us to greater accomplishments 00:18:42.950 --> 00:18:46.410 for his kingdom. So we focus on him. But grace, 00:18:46.529 --> 00:18:49.549 give yourself grace in the struggle. So first, 00:18:49.670 --> 00:18:52.490 there's this encouragement that there's faithfulness 00:18:52.490 --> 00:18:57.470 in difficulty. Second, in this passage, we see 00:18:57.470 --> 00:19:02.670 this warning against false beliefs. Pergamum. 00:19:02.990 --> 00:19:05.630 has begun to have all these false beliefs begin 00:19:05.630 --> 00:19:09.430 to enter their church. They're encouraged about 00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:11.490 how they've remained faithful, but yet at the 00:19:11.490 --> 00:19:15.990 same time, we begin to see these things seep 00:19:15.990 --> 00:19:21.970 into their beliefs into the church. Man, I wish 00:19:21.970 --> 00:19:26.849 I could tell you this doesn't happen today. But 00:19:26.849 --> 00:19:30.269 there are so many things that as Christian individuals, 00:19:30.910 --> 00:19:32.910 it begins to seep in our lives. It may sound 00:19:32.910 --> 00:19:36.089 good at first. If we're not careful, they even 00:19:36.089 --> 00:19:40.630 begin to seep into our churches. Let me give 00:19:40.630 --> 00:19:43.650 you a couple examples. On the worst end of it, 00:19:43.730 --> 00:19:49.529 there are people who are Christian people who 00:19:49.529 --> 00:19:52.869 will declare, you can believe anything you want 00:19:52.869 --> 00:19:56.809 as long as you believe it hard enough. God will 00:19:56.809 --> 00:20:00.750 count that as service to him in the end. It's 00:20:00.750 --> 00:20:02.410 this idea you don't have to believe in Jesus. 00:20:02.950 --> 00:20:04.809 You don't even have to believe in God. You can 00:20:04.809 --> 00:20:07.230 believe in anything just as long as you believe 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:13.589 in it hard enough. Then it's accepted. And it 00:20:13.589 --> 00:20:17.410 begins getting into churches. But another one. 00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:21.529 How about people who say God will give you anything 00:20:21.529 --> 00:20:28.170 if you pray in the name of Jesus. Now God is 00:20:28.170 --> 00:20:31.410 powerful. Prayer. is powerful. So stay with me 00:20:31.410 --> 00:20:34.430 on this. The Bible does say that he will grant 00:20:34.430 --> 00:20:37.630 you anything in his name. But part of that requirement 00:20:37.630 --> 00:20:40.990 is we are praying in agreement with his name. 00:20:41.130 --> 00:20:43.410 So when I pray for the things that God wants 00:20:43.410 --> 00:20:45.650 me to pray about, when I pray about the things 00:20:45.650 --> 00:20:47.609 that God wants to do because they're in his will, 00:20:47.769 --> 00:20:51.369 God is going to grant those. It's like a child. 00:20:51.490 --> 00:20:54.289 If my child came to me and said, dad, you know, 00:20:54.289 --> 00:20:56.349 I would really like to eat this broccoli for 00:20:56.349 --> 00:21:02.000 dinner. Would that be okay? Sure. My kids have 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:04.740 never done that before. But if they did, I'd 00:21:04.740 --> 00:21:06.660 be like, yeah, that is great. Why would I do 00:21:06.660 --> 00:21:10.220 that? Because it's good for them, right? Now, 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:11.779 if they came to me and said, dad, I really don't 00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:13.359 want to eat dinner today, but I'd rather eat 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:16.259 this whole bag of candy. Am I going to say, yeah, 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:20.339 that sounds great. Go ahead. No, because I know 00:21:20.339 --> 00:21:22.240 it's bad for them and I'm not going to give them 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.599 something that's bad for them. In church though, 00:21:25.660 --> 00:21:27.690 unfortunately, we've learned that I can just 00:21:27.690 --> 00:21:29.910 pray something. So like today, if I decided, 00:21:29.970 --> 00:21:34.269 God, I really need a new car. And God, today, 00:21:34.369 --> 00:21:36.990 I would like to ask for you for a Lamborghini 00:21:36.990 --> 00:21:41.190 or a Ferrari. And so when I get home today, will 00:21:41.190 --> 00:21:43.609 that be sitting in my driveway? In Jesus' name, 00:21:43.809 --> 00:21:49.750 amen. I can promise you there will not be a Lamborghini 00:21:49.750 --> 00:21:51.549 or Ferrari sitting in my driveway. Do you know 00:21:51.549 --> 00:21:53.890 why? Because I'd kill myself in a Lamborghini 00:21:53.890 --> 00:21:56.859 or Ferrari. And if not, I can't afford the insurance, 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:00.720 and I'd probably wreck it anyway. So God, knowing 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:02.680 it's not good for me, he's not going to give 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:05.119 that to me. But yet that seeps into the church. 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:10.380 One more. Have you ever heard this idea of karma? 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:15.279 This is a Far East religion idea, this balance 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:19.380 in the world, yin and yang, good and bad. I've 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:22.359 heard people in the church for so long say, don't 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:27.799 worry about them, they'll get... theirs or well 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:29.980 if they've treated you that way don't worry something 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:32.940 else will come back and get them because life 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:37.940 balances out that's not how it works we live 00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:40.680 in a fallen world there's sinfulness all around 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:42.859 us bad stuff happens because of sin in the world 00:22:42.859 --> 00:22:45.900 bad stuff happens just because we do bad things 00:22:45.900 --> 00:22:48.980 bad stuff happens because other people do bad 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:52.019 things Natural disasters happen because it is 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:55.220 God's perfect world reacting to the sinfulness 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:59.259 thrust upon it. Bad stuff happens. It's not karma. 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:01.559 There's not a cosmic scorekeeper making sure 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:03.880 good and bad happens. We know the person who's 00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:05.980 been a faithful Christian for years and ends 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:09.859 up dying of cancer early. We also know the person 00:23:09.859 --> 00:23:12.240 who has done nothing but smoke cigars and eat 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.700 bacon their entire life and they live to be 98. 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:18.900 I don't know why some things happen and others 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:21.599 don't. I don't know why God chooses to act in 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:25.460 some situations, and sometimes he doesn't. But 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:28.319 I believe we have a good God who is sovereign, 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:32.160 who is able to accomplish all things. He is working 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:36.519 for his will and his purpose, and I trust him. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:40.960 So if we're not careful, all these things begin 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:43.039 to seep in. And the problem is we then begin 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:48.500 to see our compromised theology. Theology, fancy 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:51.349 word. It's just what you believe about God is 00:23:51.349 --> 00:23:53.490 your theology. So you can have good theology. 00:23:53.589 --> 00:23:56.789 You can have real bad theology. But if we want 00:23:56.789 --> 00:23:59.049 to have correct theology, we go to the Word of 00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:03.069 God. The Bible is truth. It is God's unerring 00:24:03.069 --> 00:24:08.509 truth. It is where we go. You know what? When 00:24:08.509 --> 00:24:11.970 I was a teacher, when I was at Eastern, I had 00:24:11.970 --> 00:24:16.869 to take a philosophy of education course. This 00:24:16.869 --> 00:24:20.880 was the biggest waste of time. in my life. In 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:23.940 this class, we are taught how you teach students. 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:28.220 And they told me, you can never tell a student 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:31.079 they're wrong because you will damage their self 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:38.299 -esteem. I'm like, what? I raised my hand and 00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:41.900 I said, let me get this straight. I can never 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:44.759 tell them that they're wrong, but what if they 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:48.180 are wrong? And I said, what if they write on 00:24:48.180 --> 00:24:52.880 their paper 2 plus 2 equals 5? And they said, 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:55.420 we can't tell them they're wrong. You have to 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:59.400 tell them, nice try. Or, that's an interesting 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:03.519 way to think about it. Personally, I don't want 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.380 my engineers designing my bridges who are using 00:25:06.380 --> 00:25:08.519 2 plus 2 equals 5 because that's an interesting 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:11.839 way to look at it. Personally, I don't want my 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:14.500 surgeons doing heart surgery on me because they 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:19.329 have a unique way. to look at my body. I want 00:25:19.329 --> 00:25:22.470 someone who knows the truth. I want someone who 00:25:22.470 --> 00:25:25.049 studied and they know what to do because there 00:25:25.049 --> 00:25:28.609 is truth here. Man, we have got to know our theology. 00:25:28.950 --> 00:25:31.769 And guess what? Just because you believe something 00:25:31.769 --> 00:25:35.769 is true doesn't mean it's true. And so many times 00:25:35.769 --> 00:25:38.349 what our society now does is they take their 00:25:38.349 --> 00:25:40.769 beliefs, they read the word of God, and they 00:25:40.769 --> 00:25:43.130 adapt the word of God to match what they believe. 00:25:44.910 --> 00:25:46.930 If we are going to have correct theology, we 00:25:46.930 --> 00:25:49.009 have to take what we believe, examine it with 00:25:49.009 --> 00:25:50.910 Scripture, and when it's different, we correct 00:25:50.910 --> 00:25:56.410 our beliefs. But the problem is, when we have 00:25:56.410 --> 00:26:00.549 a compromised theology, it then leads to a compromised 00:26:00.549 --> 00:26:05.289 lifestyle. Because what you believe will come 00:26:05.289 --> 00:26:11.170 out in what you do. Let me say that again. What 00:26:11.170 --> 00:26:14.910 you believe will come out in what you do. do. 00:26:16.829 --> 00:26:19.309 You know, the Bible tells us not to worry, right? 00:26:20.289 --> 00:26:23.369 It says to take all things to God with thanksgiving, 00:26:23.430 --> 00:26:28.349 and don't worry. So when we worry, do you know 00:26:28.349 --> 00:26:31.549 what that actually says? It says to God, I don't 00:26:31.549 --> 00:26:33.650 think you're big enough to handle my problem. 00:26:34.869 --> 00:26:37.569 That becomes our theology playing out in our 00:26:37.569 --> 00:26:41.750 lifestyle. We may say we believe God enough, 00:26:41.789 --> 00:26:44.460 that he's big enough, he's powerful enough, But 00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:46.859 when we live in doubt, we're actually saying, 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:49.420 God, I don't believe you're big enough and powerful 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:53.279 enough. You know, when God calls us to share 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:55.220 the gospel with our friend's coworker neighbor, 00:26:55.539 --> 00:26:57.420 but we say, God, you don't understand. That guy's 00:26:57.420 --> 00:27:00.200 real difficult. God, you don't understand. They're 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:02.200 going to make fun of me. What we're saying is 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:04.660 God's not big enough to change that person's 00:27:04.660 --> 00:27:08.240 life. That the gospel's not worth my sacrifice. 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:13.789 And unfortunately, over time, As this compromised 00:27:13.789 --> 00:27:17.490 theology plays out, our life becomes so compromised, 00:27:17.549 --> 00:27:20.549 we can lose sight of what we're doing, who we 00:27:20.549 --> 00:27:24.630 are, even where we're going. College was kind 00:27:24.630 --> 00:27:28.089 of a time for me I lost my way. I would love 00:27:28.089 --> 00:27:31.269 to say I was a perfect student. I wasn't terrible 00:27:31.269 --> 00:27:33.410 by any means. Trust me, there's a lot of other 00:27:33.410 --> 00:27:35.170 stuff going on in college that's a lot worse, 00:27:35.230 --> 00:27:39.109 but we don't play comparative games. In my life, 00:27:39.109 --> 00:27:43.059 I wasn't seeking God. I went to church. I went 00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:44.619 to church because they paid me to sing in the 00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:47.700 choir, to practice, and so I got 50 or 60 bucks 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:50.180 a week just to attend church service. So I'm 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:52.339 like, man, I'll go to that church because they're 00:27:52.339 --> 00:27:54.940 going to give me 60 bucks every week. So I went, 00:27:55.079 --> 00:27:59.940 didn't get anything out of it. And I lived with 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:02.940 this idea that I can do whatever I want because 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:06.319 I know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. and 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.339 because i know jesus christ as my lord and savior 00:28:08.339 --> 00:28:10.559 all i have to do is ask for forgiveness and because 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:13.519 he's a gracious god he has to forgive me because 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:15.380 that's what the bible says confess your sins 00:28:15.380 --> 00:28:18.000 and he will forgive you so i said i'll go do 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:20.900 whatever i want and i'll say i'm sorry and then 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:24.480 i'll be forgiven and all will be good that's 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:28.059 not really what that verse means i had this head 00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:31.759 knowledge about god but it was a compromised 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:37.140 truth and it changed how i lived for him now 00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:39.519 i've repented for that over time but we do have 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:41.259 to be careful because like i said that is how 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:43.940 our life is compromised romans 12 2 talks about 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:46.180 this compromising that we have to be careful 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:50.059 about romans 12 2 tells us do not be conformed 00:28:50.059 --> 00:28:53.720 to this world but be transformed by the renewal 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:55.819 of your mind that by testing you may discern 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:59.180 what is the will of god what is good and acceptable 00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:04.349 and perfect So there's this idea that we have 00:29:04.349 --> 00:29:07.369 to take our things to God, to be in the world. 00:29:07.430 --> 00:29:09.970 We're called to be in the world, right? You know, 00:29:09.970 --> 00:29:13.589 I've always thought about the Amish people. And 00:29:13.589 --> 00:29:17.150 I'm impressed by them. One of the things they 00:29:17.150 --> 00:29:20.130 get right is this holistic living. They have 00:29:20.130 --> 00:29:22.609 separated themselves from the sinful temptations 00:29:22.609 --> 00:29:24.779 of the world. They still have their own temptations, 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.660 but they don't have to worry about internet stuff. 00:29:27.819 --> 00:29:29.500 They don't have to worry about listening to the 00:29:29.500 --> 00:29:32.660 wrong songs or watching the wrong movies or spending 00:29:32.660 --> 00:29:34.740 too much time on their Facebook or Instagram 00:29:34.740 --> 00:29:38.579 or Snapchat or whatever else you use. They don't 00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:40.680 have to do all that stuff because they've removed 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:44.200 themselves from the world. But here's the problem. 00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:47.740 How are they accomplishing the Great Commission? 00:29:49.059 --> 00:29:51.519 And that's the whole point. Your church recites 00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:53.930 this at the end of every service. Because that 00:29:53.930 --> 00:29:56.309 is the purpose of the church is to accomplish 00:29:56.309 --> 00:29:58.910 the great commission by declaring the gospel 00:29:58.910 --> 00:30:01.109 and being disciples who make disciples. That's 00:30:01.109 --> 00:30:05.910 what we're called to do. They've removed themselves. 00:30:06.289 --> 00:30:07.930 Yes, they're protecting themselves. They're not 00:30:07.930 --> 00:30:09.849 being influenced by the world because they've 00:30:09.849 --> 00:30:12.349 isolated themselves. They're also not influencing 00:30:12.349 --> 00:30:18.210 the world for God's kingdom. However, we can 00:30:18.210 --> 00:30:20.670 be on the other side where we're trying to influence. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:25.259 God's kingdom and trying to take the gospel into 00:30:25.259 --> 00:30:27.940 the world, but yet the world influences us to 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:31.420 such a degree that we begin to lose our gospel 00:30:31.420 --> 00:30:34.680 effectiveness. I don't know if you guys follow 00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:37.099 any of the news, but have you guys noticed the 00:30:37.099 --> 00:30:40.940 amount of mega church pastors who have fallen 00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:44.839 in recent years due to some sort of financial 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:48.339 or sexual temptation from their past or even 00:30:48.339 --> 00:30:52.589 recent? You look around at the abuse that happens. 00:30:53.470 --> 00:30:57.829 There was just one recently in the news. Man, 00:30:57.970 --> 00:31:02.390 we have to be careful. If we do not guard our 00:31:02.390 --> 00:31:07.130 hearts, we will fall. I don't know if you're 00:31:07.130 --> 00:31:09.450 familiar with the story of David. We know David 00:31:09.450 --> 00:31:11.589 and Goliath, right? He took his stones and killed 00:31:11.589 --> 00:31:15.890 Goliath. And God calls him a man after God's 00:31:15.890 --> 00:31:18.690 own heart. If we fast forward enough. There's 00:31:18.690 --> 00:31:20.609 a passage where David, and it says, it was the 00:31:20.609 --> 00:31:23.269 season when kings go to war, but David decided, 00:31:23.369 --> 00:31:25.910 I'm going to stay back. I've done my time. I 00:31:25.910 --> 00:31:27.130 don't want to do that. I'm going to stay home. 00:31:27.710 --> 00:31:30.069 And so one night he's up and he sees Bathsheba, 00:31:30.150 --> 00:31:34.349 invites her into his house. And as we continue 00:31:34.349 --> 00:31:36.549 down that line, eventually he kills Bathsheba's 00:31:36.549 --> 00:31:40.190 husband. He lies about it, marries her, takes 00:31:40.190 --> 00:31:42.950 her into his own house. Man, just sinfulness 00:31:42.950 --> 00:31:46.259 after sinfulness after sinfulness. But it started 00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:48.559 with a single thing of him shirking his duty 00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:51.279 and saying, God, I don't have to do that. I've 00:31:51.279 --> 00:31:55.559 done my time. If we aren't careful, it is so 00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:58.240 easy for us. If David, who the Bible says is 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:01.839 a man after God's own heart, can fall so greatly, 00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:05.700 we have to be aware that that temptation is right 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:08.940 there for us. But through the Spirit of God, 00:32:08.980 --> 00:32:10.759 there is the power to overcome any temptation. 00:32:11.660 --> 00:32:13.859 God has promised he will give us a way out of 00:32:13.859 --> 00:32:16.299 temptation when we look for him. And so today, 00:32:16.339 --> 00:32:18.859 as we look at this, as Jesus calls them, and 00:32:18.859 --> 00:32:22.500 I think this is a call for us as well, there's 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:27.440 a call to repentance. Man, Jesus knows this is 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:30.359 a difficult place. It's a town, and he calls 00:32:30.359 --> 00:32:34.119 it where Satan dwells. I don't know if he'd quite 00:32:34.119 --> 00:32:37.380 say that about Champaign -Urbana -Savoy. Maybe 00:32:37.380 --> 00:32:39.599 he'd say, Champaign -Urbana -Savoy, where Satan 00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:44.339 dwells. don't think it's probably that bad um 00:32:44.339 --> 00:32:46.839 but that's what he says so this is a difficult 00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:52.160 place they have these idols these teachings they've 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:54.759 put up this you know stumbling block before all 00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:58.160 those things of balaam and balak they've begun 00:32:58.160 --> 00:33:00.859 to eat food sacrifice to idols and sexual morality 00:33:00.859 --> 00:33:04.599 they have this emperor you know worship going 00:33:04.599 --> 00:33:09.980 on but in verse 18 he gives them this word therefore 00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:14.559 repent for us today i think there's this call 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:20.519 to repentance and repentance not just the i'm 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:23.200 sorry but the actual turn away to actually repent 00:33:23.200 --> 00:33:26.500 so if i was walking this direction and i decided 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:29.299 i was wrong if i was going to repent from going 00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:32.420 this direction i would literally turn 180 degrees 00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:35.579 and go the other direction That's what it means 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:38.259 in our lives. If I'm pursuing sinfulness for 00:33:38.259 --> 00:33:40.980 me to repent, I have to do a complete 180 and 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:44.240 travel a different direction. It's not about 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:47.900 just adjusting my life. It's not just about trying 00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:49.700 to avoid it, because we're good at that, aren't 00:33:49.700 --> 00:33:52.960 we? I think sometimes we get in our minds, I 00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:55.359 have a problem with whatever it may be. And you 00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:57.000 can fill in your own blank. It may be greed, 00:33:57.099 --> 00:33:59.940 pride, lust, whatever. Fill in your own blank. 00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:04.380 And we think, I can do this. I cannot do this 00:34:04.380 --> 00:34:07.039 anymore. I can avoid my sinfulness. And guess 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:09.619 what? You'll be successful for a while. Through 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:13.099 your own strength and endurance, you can find 00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:18.119 success for a season. But eventually, you will 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:20.880 stumble and you will fall because all of us grow 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:24.679 tired. The only way we can find true forgiveness 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:28.280 is when we repent, turn away. We then fill our 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:31.980 lives with the things of God. not just avoid 00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:36.480 what is sinful. And so it's a call to refocus 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:39.079 our life and beliefs on God, because all of us 00:34:39.079 --> 00:34:41.840 drift. It doesn't matter who you are. If you're 00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:45.360 an elder, a pastor, a deacon, an adult, a child, 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:47.260 you could have been a Christian for 90 years, 00:34:47.300 --> 00:34:50.440 you could be a Christian for two days. All of 00:34:50.440 --> 00:34:53.500 us are going to have times where we drift, and 00:34:53.500 --> 00:34:56.539 we need to refocus and be reunited on who God 00:34:56.539 --> 00:34:59.309 is. to direct your life. So there's this call 00:34:59.309 --> 00:35:03.690 that we refocus. In fact, Psalm 19, 14 is this 00:35:03.690 --> 00:35:05.730 prayer, and I hope this would be our prayer today. 00:35:06.329 --> 00:35:08.510 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation 00:35:08.510 --> 00:35:12.190 of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, 00:35:12.409 --> 00:35:17.449 my rock and my redeemer. Today, is that your 00:35:17.449 --> 00:35:21.130 prayer? Today, can you say, the words of my mouth 00:35:21.130 --> 00:35:24.920 and the meditation of my heart are on God? Or 00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:26.940 maybe you're sitting here today thinking, man, 00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:29.639 this guy's preaching way too long. I wonder where 00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:33.599 we're going to go for lunch today. No, oh, we 00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:35.500 got VBS this afternoon and there's all this other 00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:38.760 stuff I need to do. Or, man, there's that new 00:35:38.760 --> 00:35:40.880 PS5 game that just came out I want to play and 00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:42.539 I can't wait to get back home and play Fortnite 00:35:42.539 --> 00:35:46.519 with my homies. They don't say homies anymore, 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:54.190 they say chat now. I'm not hip, I know. But we 00:35:54.190 --> 00:35:57.690 get so distracted, don't we? And it's so easy 00:35:57.690 --> 00:36:00.610 for us when we want our hearts and desires to 00:36:00.610 --> 00:36:03.230 be locked in into who God is and we want to pursue 00:36:03.230 --> 00:36:05.750 him with everything that we are. It is so easy 00:36:05.750 --> 00:36:08.289 for us to drift away because we all have responsibility. 00:36:09.409 --> 00:36:14.090 We all have problems. And if we're not careful, 00:36:14.230 --> 00:36:18.409 those things begin to consume our lives. But 00:36:18.409 --> 00:36:22.820 our God is bigger than all those things. So we 00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:26.119 refocus on God. We refocus our life and belief 00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:34.619 on him. So we also receive this warning. So there's 00:36:34.619 --> 00:36:36.380 this call to repentance, but you're given a choice. 00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:39.400 I want you to see this here. We are always given 00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:43.900 a choice. Jesus gives the church at Pergamum 00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:48.300 a choice. There's this call, but what is he going 00:36:48.300 --> 00:36:50.179 to do? So then there's this warning of judgment. 00:36:50.219 --> 00:36:55.179 He says, therefore repent. If not, I will come 00:36:55.179 --> 00:36:58.400 to you soon and war against them with the sword 00:36:58.400 --> 00:37:04.059 of my mouth. This idea of, look, repent, or you're 00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:07.559 not going to be a church anymore. Repent, or 00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:10.800 there is judgment coming. Realize in your life 00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:14.940 there is a warning of judgment. When we do things 00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:17.559 that are against God, there are always consequences. 00:37:19.139 --> 00:37:22.880 Sin is always a big deal. And there's this saying, 00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:26.940 that sin will take you farther than you want 00:37:26.940 --> 00:37:32.360 to go, cost you more than you want to pay. Because 00:37:32.360 --> 00:37:35.019 it looks good in the moment, right? So I've been 00:37:35.019 --> 00:37:36.940 on a diet for about a year. I've been trying 00:37:36.940 --> 00:37:39.380 to run. I've lost about 50 pounds, so I've been 00:37:39.380 --> 00:37:42.340 doing pretty good. But you know what? I used 00:37:42.340 --> 00:37:47.019 to like to eat candy a lot. And so we would go 00:37:47.019 --> 00:37:49.000 buy candy at my house and I'd have it and I'd 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:51.300 have a little bag next to my chair. And so do 00:37:51.300 --> 00:37:53.760 you know what I did? And I'm a gamer, so I like 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:55.739 to play video games. I have about every game 00:37:55.739 --> 00:37:58.340 system you can ever think of at my house. And 00:37:58.340 --> 00:38:00.260 I would sit there and play my games and we'd 00:38:00.260 --> 00:38:02.000 play Fortnite with my boys or whatever and I 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:04.840 would eat candy. Sounds real healthy, right? 00:38:05.860 --> 00:38:08.059 That was fun in the moment because the candy 00:38:08.059 --> 00:38:11.230 was good. But over time, guess what? You put 00:38:11.230 --> 00:38:14.409 on a lot of weight when you eat candy. You know 00:38:14.409 --> 00:38:17.230 what? Chocolate cake looks good. A little bit 00:38:17.230 --> 00:38:19.789 of it's okay. But you better not eat the whole 00:38:19.789 --> 00:38:23.650 thing. Because otherwise there's problems. There 00:38:23.650 --> 00:38:26.090 are consequences for our bad choices. Just like 00:38:26.090 --> 00:38:28.110 our sinfulness, there are consequences. And it 00:38:28.110 --> 00:38:30.510 may not be recognizable in the media. Because 00:38:30.510 --> 00:38:34.309 guess what? Sin is fun. I know you don't think 00:38:34.309 --> 00:38:37.349 a pastor should say that. But if sin wasn't fun, 00:38:37.590 --> 00:38:40.820 it would be easy to say no. That's why it looks 00:38:40.820 --> 00:38:44.840 good. It's tempting because it's something we 00:38:44.840 --> 00:38:46.739 want to do. Satan knows where to hit our buttons. 00:38:47.820 --> 00:38:49.900 Ourselves, we tempt ourselves because we know 00:38:49.900 --> 00:38:54.880 what we want and our fleshly desires. But man, 00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:58.360 there is judgment to come if we're not careful. 00:39:00.039 --> 00:39:03.820 Because I went from just under 200 pounds when 00:39:03.820 --> 00:39:06.039 I started at Calvary, then I started eating my 00:39:06.039 --> 00:39:10.940 candy and I got above 250 pounds. That didn't 00:39:10.940 --> 00:39:16.099 happen overnight. We have to be careful because, 00:39:16.179 --> 00:39:19.559 man, that stuff builds. And our sinfulness is 00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:23.179 like a wall between us and God. Every sin gets 00:39:23.179 --> 00:39:25.639 there and it's just a little bit harder to hear 00:39:25.639 --> 00:39:29.179 him. It may not seem like a big deal at first, 00:39:29.219 --> 00:39:32.179 but eventually over time it builds and builds 00:39:32.179 --> 00:39:35.119 and builds. And all of a sudden you look back 00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:37.280 and you're not anywhere close to where you want 00:39:37.280 --> 00:39:40.449 to be. I don't think any of us make a decision 00:39:40.449 --> 00:39:41.869 to be like, you know what, I decide I don't want 00:39:41.869 --> 00:39:44.090 to follow God. I just want to do all the sinful 00:39:44.090 --> 00:39:45.710 stuff in the world. I'm just going to do that 00:39:45.710 --> 00:39:48.610 because that sounds great. But man, if you're 00:39:48.610 --> 00:39:50.909 not careful, you find yourself there just from 00:39:50.909 --> 00:39:53.489 the little steps along the way. But there's this 00:39:53.489 --> 00:39:55.710 warning, and sinfulness always has a big deal. 00:39:56.269 --> 00:39:59.730 And so, however, there's also reward for response. 00:40:01.630 --> 00:40:04.429 So the two choices as they talk about this reward, 00:40:04.670 --> 00:40:06.230 we get this warning, and here's what's going 00:40:06.230 --> 00:40:09.599 to happen. So those who reject. Those who reject 00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:12.480 Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, there 00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:18.300 is only judgment for them. I don't know if you've 00:40:18.300 --> 00:40:20.539 ever heard this, that hell is the absence of 00:40:20.539 --> 00:40:25.300 God. That's not necessarily true. Hell is the 00:40:25.300 --> 00:40:27.820 existence of God's eternal wrath and judgment. 00:40:28.599 --> 00:40:32.559 It is absence of God's grace, love, compassion. 00:40:33.579 --> 00:40:35.480 Have you ever heard people say, I want to go 00:40:35.480 --> 00:40:36.900 to hell because that's where all my friends are 00:40:36.900 --> 00:40:41.010 going to be? Guess what's not in hell? Relationship, 00:40:41.030 --> 00:40:45.090 friendship, comfort. Those are all blessings 00:40:45.090 --> 00:40:47.969 given by God. Hell is the complete absence of 00:40:47.969 --> 00:40:51.909 those. It is the full existence of God's wrath. 00:40:53.769 --> 00:40:57.989 That is what people earn. The Bible says, for 00:40:57.989 --> 00:41:01.610 the wages of sin is death. You know what a wage 00:41:01.610 --> 00:41:04.929 is? It is something you've earned for a job done. 00:41:05.769 --> 00:41:08.449 And so, you know, I used to mow yards when I 00:41:08.449 --> 00:41:11.510 grew up. I got paid $10. Like, man, that's terrible. 00:41:11.789 --> 00:41:14.590 You have to realize that was like 30 years ago. 00:41:15.829 --> 00:41:18.409 I would get $10. That's my wage. I'd mow, I'd 00:41:18.409 --> 00:41:21.090 get 10 bucks. If I didn't mow, didn't get 10 00:41:21.090 --> 00:41:23.070 bucks. It's the work I did. This is what I earned. 00:41:23.989 --> 00:41:27.809 My sinfulness in my life has earned me death. 00:41:28.550 --> 00:41:32.110 There is nothing I can do to remove that judgment. 00:41:32.489 --> 00:41:35.599 Let me ask you. Has anyone here ever lied before? 00:41:36.820 --> 00:41:39.760 Yes. Raise your hand if you've lied. Oh, man. 00:41:40.139 --> 00:41:42.119 A whole bunch of you. Do you know what that makes 00:41:42.119 --> 00:41:47.179 you? Liars. Do you know what that makes me? Liar. 00:41:48.400 --> 00:41:51.440 I can tell the truth as much as I want, but guess 00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:54.940 what? If I ever told a lie, I am still a liar. 00:41:55.019 --> 00:41:57.780 I can never take that back. Has anyone ever stolen 00:41:57.780 --> 00:42:01.489 anything before? I have. My dad owned a department 00:42:01.489 --> 00:42:03.909 store or manager at a department store. And so 00:42:03.909 --> 00:42:05.690 I'd go in and I'd take candy out of their candy 00:42:05.690 --> 00:42:07.849 display all the time because it's like the little 00:42:07.849 --> 00:42:09.610 scoop thing. And I just go in there and take 00:42:09.610 --> 00:42:13.849 it because I could. And I was four. But man, 00:42:13.909 --> 00:42:16.690 that makes me a thief, right? I can return it. 00:42:16.789 --> 00:42:19.210 I can say I'm sorry, but I'm still a thief. No 00:42:19.210 --> 00:42:23.130 matter what I do, I can't erase it. Our wages 00:42:23.130 --> 00:42:26.690 are sinful. Our actions are sinful. The only 00:42:26.690 --> 00:42:29.730 way. For true forgiveness is through the blood 00:42:29.730 --> 00:42:32.510 of Jesus Christ, who God sent to this world, 00:42:32.550 --> 00:42:35.690 who Jesus lived a perfect life, who then died 00:42:35.690 --> 00:42:40.769 on the cross innocent to pay the punishment for 00:42:40.769 --> 00:42:46.389 our sinfulness. And we put our faith in him. 00:42:47.309 --> 00:42:49.789 We are given this new life. And that's the other 00:42:49.789 --> 00:42:56.269 reward for our response is repentance. we get 00:42:56.269 --> 00:42:59.570 this repentance it's a new life that all the 00:42:59.570 --> 00:43:02.590 old is wiped away and what i love in the moment 00:43:02.590 --> 00:43:05.489 of salvation my sins are forgiven past present 00:43:05.489 --> 00:43:09.469 and future as christians we're still going to 00:43:09.469 --> 00:43:12.590 sin aren't we and we need to take it serious 00:43:12.590 --> 00:43:14.530 we need to continue to ask god for forgiveness 00:43:14.530 --> 00:43:16.909 but i don't have to worry about losing my salvation 00:43:16.909 --> 00:43:19.489 because my salvation is secured through the blood 00:43:19.489 --> 00:43:23.630 of jesus christ alone through my faith in him 00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:28.019 The Bible says that nothing can take me out of 00:43:28.019 --> 00:43:35.119 his hand. My salvation is secure through the 00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:38.039 blood of Jesus Christ. When God looks at me because 00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:40.340 of my faith in Jesus, he no longer sees the sinful 00:43:40.340 --> 00:43:43.480 person I am. He sees the righteousness because 00:43:43.480 --> 00:43:47.760 I'm covered by Jesus. He sees Jesus' sacrifice. 00:43:48.780 --> 00:43:51.900 Man, I get that new life. And I love this description. 00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:55.119 that they give here to Pergamon. It says, if 00:43:55.119 --> 00:43:57.840 you repent, if you come to me, I will give you 00:43:57.840 --> 00:44:01.280 some of the hidden manna. So what was manna? 00:44:01.380 --> 00:44:05.059 If we go back and look in Exodus, the Israelites 00:44:05.059 --> 00:44:06.860 have come out of Egypt. They've been walking 00:44:06.860 --> 00:44:08.860 through and they just complain and complain and 00:44:08.860 --> 00:44:11.960 complain. Like, God, why are we here? God, you 00:44:11.960 --> 00:44:13.900 brought us out here to die. God, it would have 00:44:13.900 --> 00:44:16.780 been better for us to be in Egypt. Moses, take 00:44:16.780 --> 00:44:19.559 us back to Egypt. I'm like, these people don't 00:44:19.559 --> 00:44:22.469 get it. And so they're like, we're hungry. So 00:44:22.469 --> 00:44:23.989 God says, I'm going to give you manna. Every 00:44:23.989 --> 00:44:26.110 day, there's going to be this bread -like stuff 00:44:26.110 --> 00:44:28.530 that tastes like honey that falls on the ground. 00:44:28.650 --> 00:44:31.289 Go and pick it up. They've done nothing to earn 00:44:31.289 --> 00:44:33.969 that, right? All they do is complain and complain 00:44:33.969 --> 00:44:37.710 and complain. In fact, you know, when people 00:44:37.710 --> 00:44:40.730 complain around us, we kind of eventually give 00:44:40.730 --> 00:44:43.389 in, right? And usually those results aren't good. 00:44:43.409 --> 00:44:44.789 I told my son I wasn't going to talk about them 00:44:44.789 --> 00:44:46.869 today, but I'm going to do it anyway. So when 00:44:46.869 --> 00:44:49.900 my son Andrew was four or five, We go to Buffalo 00:44:49.900 --> 00:44:52.340 Wild Wings. We like Buffalo Wild Wings. And I 00:44:52.340 --> 00:44:55.219 like the hot wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. And 00:44:55.219 --> 00:44:57.820 so we are there. And Andrew kept saying, Dad, 00:44:58.039 --> 00:45:01.380 I want some of your wings. I said, no, they're 00:45:01.380 --> 00:45:05.179 too hot. You won't like them. 30 seconds later, 00:45:05.280 --> 00:45:08.639 Dad, I want some of your wings. No, they're too 00:45:08.639 --> 00:45:13.099 hot. You won't like them. Dad, I want some of 00:45:13.099 --> 00:45:19.210 your wings. Fine! Here! He takes one bite and 00:45:19.210 --> 00:45:25.630 starts bawling. Now, as a sinful human being, 00:45:25.690 --> 00:45:32.869 I thought, serves you right. But God, as the 00:45:32.869 --> 00:45:35.710 Israelites are complaining, he doesn't say, serves 00:45:35.710 --> 00:45:39.210 you right. He gives them something that will 00:45:39.210 --> 00:45:44.250 lead to new life. That is the promise when we 00:45:44.250 --> 00:45:47.130 go to God. He provides our sustenance of new 00:45:47.130 --> 00:45:50.650 life. He is the bread of life. It is not just 00:45:50.650 --> 00:45:53.269 salvation for the world to come when this life 00:45:53.269 --> 00:45:56.050 ends and we get to celebrate eternity in heaven 00:45:56.050 --> 00:45:59.289 in the presence of God. We get to experience 00:45:59.289 --> 00:46:04.010 God's power in this life now as he sustains us. 00:46:04.449 --> 00:46:07.630 And this new white stone, this is where I love 00:46:07.630 --> 00:46:10.530 this picture. Pergamum took great pride in the 00:46:10.530 --> 00:46:12.929 white stone that they had because they were worshiping 00:46:12.929 --> 00:46:17.159 the emperor. And here, Jesus connects that right 00:46:17.159 --> 00:46:19.480 to that community. And he said, you know what? 00:46:19.659 --> 00:46:22.179 Your community takes great pride in this stone 00:46:22.179 --> 00:46:24.019 that has written on how great your community 00:46:24.019 --> 00:46:27.559 is. But when you come to me, I will give you 00:46:27.559 --> 00:46:31.340 a new stone. So he's going to give them something 00:46:31.340 --> 00:46:33.000 that represents their relationship with Christ. 00:46:33.099 --> 00:46:35.639 I wish I knew what was written on that. It says, 00:46:35.739 --> 00:46:37.559 there's a new name written on that stone that 00:46:37.559 --> 00:46:39.260 no one knows, except the one who receives it. 00:46:39.300 --> 00:46:44.360 I'm like, I want to know what that is. But what 00:46:44.360 --> 00:46:47.219 I do know, man, it's got to be great because 00:46:47.219 --> 00:46:50.599 it's given by God. But it symbolizes this new 00:46:50.599 --> 00:46:56.719 dedication to a new life in Jesus Christ. So 00:46:56.719 --> 00:47:00.820 today, I want to ask you, this is kind of our 00:47:00.820 --> 00:47:06.920 application section, where are you? If Jesus 00:47:06.920 --> 00:47:10.079 had wrote this letter to you, what would it say? 00:47:12.219 --> 00:47:14.119 What would be the things in your life he might 00:47:14.119 --> 00:47:17.780 point out? Things that maybe you're tempted to 00:47:17.780 --> 00:47:21.039 add to. I'm hoping none of you are worshiping 00:47:21.039 --> 00:47:24.719 Balaam or Balak. But man, I bet there's some 00:47:24.719 --> 00:47:26.260 of us that are living a little bit too much in 00:47:26.260 --> 00:47:30.000 the world. I bet there's some of us that, you 00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:32.119 know, some of those worldly beliefs begin to 00:47:32.119 --> 00:47:34.980 creep in or maybe we're just not living for God 00:47:34.980 --> 00:47:38.420 like we should. Maybe God's calling you to something 00:47:38.420 --> 00:47:41.239 new. Maybe he's calling you to share your faith. 00:47:41.760 --> 00:47:46.000 with your neighbor, with a co -worker. I don't 00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:48.179 know what he's calling, but I know he would have 00:47:48.179 --> 00:47:51.320 something to say for you today if you don't know 00:47:51.320 --> 00:47:53.780 him as your Lord and Savior. If you've never 00:47:53.780 --> 00:47:55.920 trusted Jesus Christ and said, God, I'm sorry 00:47:55.920 --> 00:47:58.719 for the things that I've done. God, I'm sorry 00:47:58.719 --> 00:48:00.719 for my sinfulness, the things that are against 00:48:00.719 --> 00:48:03.219 your will. I'm sorry for participating in those. 00:48:03.280 --> 00:48:06.079 And God, today I want to ask for forgiveness. 00:48:06.800 --> 00:48:11.219 God, today I recognize Jesus. He came. He died 00:48:11.219 --> 00:48:14.579 on the cross for my sinfulness to take the punishment 00:48:14.579 --> 00:48:20.099 I deserve. He took my place. And God, today I 00:48:20.099 --> 00:48:23.400 give my life to you. Maybe today it's a time 00:48:23.400 --> 00:48:26.800 for you to do that. To see your life change from 00:48:26.800 --> 00:48:30.019 death to life. From hopelessness to hope. To 00:48:30.019 --> 00:48:32.360 give you that new direction. That manna from 00:48:32.360 --> 00:48:39.110 heaven. That new life. Whatever your... dealing 00:48:39.110 --> 00:48:40.750 with today, I pray that we'll use these next 00:48:40.750 --> 00:48:43.989 couple songs as a chance to ask God to move in 00:48:43.989 --> 00:48:45.489 our lives. So use them as a time of response. 00:48:46.630 --> 00:48:49.230 And whether you stand, whether you sit, whatever 00:48:49.230 --> 00:48:51.010 you do, I'd ask you, whether you're singing, 00:48:51.170 --> 00:48:53.090 whatever, just use this time to let the Holy 00:48:53.090 --> 00:48:56.730 Spirit speak to you, to respond to the Word of 00:48:56.730 --> 00:49:01.210 God. Maybe it's a day to recommit, to change, 00:49:01.469 --> 00:49:04.449 to say, God, I'm sorry. Maybe it's a day to say, 00:49:04.510 --> 00:49:06.630 God, everything's going pretty well, and I'm 00:49:06.630 --> 00:49:08.369 pursuing you. God, thank you for protecting me. 00:49:08.819 --> 00:49:11.300 Thank you for how you're giving to me, whatever 00:49:11.300 --> 00:49:13.519 it is. Our band's going to come, and I'm going 00:49:13.519 --> 00:49:16.000 to pray, and we're going to lead in the time 00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:18.300 of worship. But my prayer is, spend this time 00:49:18.300 --> 00:49:21.900 to focus on who God is and what he has for you 00:49:21.900 --> 00:49:23.780 in this moment. I'm sure if you need to talk 00:49:23.780 --> 00:49:25.300 or pray with someone, Danny would love to do 00:49:25.300 --> 00:49:26.739 that. I'll be up here if you want to do that 00:49:26.739 --> 00:49:29.079 as well over here on the side. But just use this 00:49:29.079 --> 00:49:32.639 time to respond as God leads you. Dear Heavenly 00:49:32.639 --> 00:49:37.349 Father, we are grateful for these words. God, 00:49:37.369 --> 00:49:39.110 we're grateful for your message to the church 00:49:39.110 --> 00:49:41.650 at Pergamum. God, today I would pray that this 00:49:41.650 --> 00:49:44.269 would be a chance for us to examine our own lives. 00:49:45.710 --> 00:49:47.710 God, if you were to give us a letter like you 00:49:47.710 --> 00:49:50.630 gave to these churches, what would you say to 00:49:50.630 --> 00:49:54.329 us? God, I pray during this time, may this be 00:49:54.329 --> 00:49:57.809 a time for you just to shine the light of your 00:49:57.809 --> 00:50:01.469 word on our lives. God, illuminate our shortcomings. 00:50:01.730 --> 00:50:05.489 God, not to judge us or hold us down, but God, 00:50:05.510 --> 00:50:09.420 to lead us. to redemption as we confess and give 00:50:09.420 --> 00:50:12.159 those over to you. God, I pray today if there's 00:50:12.159 --> 00:50:14.039 someone here who doesn't know Jesus Christ as 00:50:14.039 --> 00:50:15.739 their Lord and Savior, that you begin moving 00:50:15.739 --> 00:50:18.059 in their hearts and minds, draw them to yourself, 00:50:18.360 --> 00:50:21.480 help them to begin to yearn for a relationship 00:50:21.480 --> 00:50:25.480 in this new life with you. So God, as we look 00:50:25.480 --> 00:50:27.719 and respond in these next moments, God, speak 00:50:27.719 --> 00:50:31.119 to us clearly. God, help us to lay down our pride 00:50:31.119 --> 00:50:34.750 or whatever it is and just respond. and confess 00:50:34.750 --> 00:50:38.050 our shortcomings to you. So God, lead us as we 00:50:38.050 --> 00:50:40.269 worship. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.