WEBVTT 00:00:16.010 --> 00:00:20.309 to be invited here to speak. Sometimes you just 00:00:20.309 --> 00:00:23.109 go here and this is a church, but no, this is 00:00:23.109 --> 00:00:26.109 a great church. It has wonderful reputation. 00:00:26.210 --> 00:00:28.730 Even my daughter said this morning, I just wish 00:00:28.730 --> 00:00:30.350 I could be there with you because she loves the 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:32.770 experience of just being in this church. And 00:00:32.770 --> 00:00:35.229 you want to hold that as a real treasure and 00:00:35.229 --> 00:00:38.289 a prize to you. But of course, we love your pastors. 00:00:38.450 --> 00:00:41.149 They have been incredibly honorable when they 00:00:41.149 --> 00:00:45.670 have come to our church, not just in... Yes, 00:00:45.670 --> 00:00:52.850 you should. They have not just been honorable 00:00:52.850 --> 00:00:55.229 in how they treat us and how they treat our people, 00:00:55.310 --> 00:00:58.149 but they are honorable with the presence of God. 00:00:58.250 --> 00:01:00.289 They are honorable with his word. They're honorable 00:01:00.289 --> 00:01:03.710 with the gifts that God has given to them. And 00:01:03.710 --> 00:01:06.769 so we just, we love them. And you guys are great 00:01:06.769 --> 00:01:09.930 pastors. And to consider you friends is wonderful. 00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:12.269 And even just being here in this place, I'm a 00:01:12.269 --> 00:01:16.620 little bit undone, to be honest with you. Because 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:19.099 I think what God is doing in this place is just 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:22.620 so choice and so wonderful. And you not only 00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:26.459 should revere what God is doing, but you should 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:29.079 be a little bit in awe of it. And I'll kind of 00:01:29.079 --> 00:01:31.579 open that up to you in a little bit. But I think 00:01:31.579 --> 00:01:34.700 you're ending your 18th year. You're beginning 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:38.780 your 19th year. And I've got good news for you. 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:43.920 The 20th year can be the death of some organizations. 00:01:45.990 --> 00:01:48.469 what happens is sometimes you just get going 00:01:48.469 --> 00:01:51.709 and you don't revitalize. But you have pastors 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:54.730 that are listening to God and you can feel it 00:01:54.730 --> 00:01:57.489 in this place. Next year is going to be a great 00:01:57.489 --> 00:01:59.510 year because it's going to create a platform 00:01:59.510 --> 00:02:04.750 of wonder that's going to happen for the next 00:02:04.750 --> 00:02:07.810 20 years. It's going to be just amazing. And 00:02:07.810 --> 00:02:09.550 it's going to be because you have a couple that 00:02:09.550 --> 00:02:12.409 listen to God. You probably already have a set 00:02:12.409 --> 00:02:16.090 of these. just to let you know, let both of you 00:02:16.090 --> 00:02:20.330 have the ear of God, I thought I'd get you some 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:24.810 earbuds that I want to give you this morning. 00:02:24.870 --> 00:02:27.490 So come on up here. And both of you just come 00:02:27.490 --> 00:02:31.810 up here for a moment. And I don't care how you 00:02:31.810 --> 00:02:34.310 use these. The guy stood there, I didn't even 00:02:34.310 --> 00:02:36.050 know they had these. I use mine all the time. 00:02:36.069 --> 00:02:37.830 They said, well, you can, I think he said you 00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:41.729 can. charge them wirelessly I said these guys 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:44.689 are like whatever the the best is that's what 00:02:44.689 --> 00:02:46.550 I want to get for you because in God that's who 00:02:46.550 --> 00:02:48.610 you are and as I give this to you I just want 00:02:48.610 --> 00:02:51.889 to say over you you have great days ahead of 00:02:51.889 --> 00:02:56.289 you of listening and hearing God from open heavens 00:02:56.289 --> 00:02:58.889 and because you've honored him with these 18 00:02:58.889 --> 00:03:01.930 20 years of your life God is going to honor you 00:03:01.930 --> 00:03:05.629 with the next 20 and even that song that was 00:03:05.629 --> 00:03:08.969 sung about pioneers that was directly into your 00:03:08.969 --> 00:03:11.849 heart and God has made you a pioneer and there's 00:03:11.849 --> 00:03:13.870 yet roads to build and all that but you're also 00:03:13.870 --> 00:03:15.830 laying road that people are going to come behind 00:03:15.830 --> 00:03:19.090 and say yes also so be encouraged you're going 00:03:19.090 --> 00:03:22.069 to hear more and more from God he is not going 00:03:22.069 --> 00:03:24.770 to let you down prophetically you are going to 00:03:24.770 --> 00:03:28.569 hear from him clearly in Jesus name amen love 00:03:28.569 --> 00:03:37.030 you guys love you guys love you um I I have to 00:03:37.030 --> 00:03:42.189 say this. You have a unique pastor because he 00:03:42.189 --> 00:03:48.710 is prophetic and yet disciplined. He is prophetic 00:03:48.710 --> 00:03:52.310 and yet has a good business mind about him. I 00:03:52.310 --> 00:03:54.150 don't know if you know how wonderfully unique 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:58.409 that is. He hears from God and then he can do 00:03:58.409 --> 00:04:02.539 things with his life. that enables God and your 00:04:02.539 --> 00:04:05.460 pastor's wife to fulfill what God has done in 00:04:05.460 --> 00:04:07.919 them. So you should just thank Jesus for the 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:09.439 pastors you have because they are wonderful, 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:11.960 and I'm sure the leaders around them are just 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:19.959 like them. If you don't mind me saying this, 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.279 as in the prayer room, wow, just great praying 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:25.839 going on in there this morning. And then we went 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.939 up to where the team was praying for the ministry 00:04:28.939 --> 00:04:31.279 and the prayer coming out of them was so wonderful. 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:34.360 This is a praying house, love Jesus kind of house. 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:36.399 And I just, I want to commend you for it. If 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:38.360 you want to see what my son looks like, I believe 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:40.000 they have a picture of him. That's going to go 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:43.560 up on the screen now. He pastors in Tigard and 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:47.600 that's his family. We have five grandsons, ones 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:50.540 with Jesus. have four left, and these are two 00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:52.620 of them, then you would know this family right 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:56.019 here, my daughter. you know, when they were helping 00:04:56.019 --> 00:04:58.639 dad do something. So that's a little bit exciting. 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:00.800 I said, you guys can either send me the picture 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.160 you want me to show or I'll pick my own and it 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:05.259 won't be flattering. So this is the one that 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:07.339 Jerusha wanted you to see. This is the one that 00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:10.639 she had sent for those of you who know her. And 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:14.420 I'm not liking this really because now I'm going 00:05:14.420 --> 00:05:17.980 places and, oh yeah, you're Jerusha's dad. So 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:20.199 I'm going to have to live with that humility 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:23.050 as it goes. I want to read a verse to you. and 00:05:23.050 --> 00:05:24.709 then we'll get going here. It says, and they 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:27.069 devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching 00:05:27.069 --> 00:05:29.589 and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and 00:05:29.589 --> 00:05:35.949 prayers, and awe came upon every soul. Many wonders 00:05:35.949 --> 00:05:40.790 and signs were being done through the apostles, 00:05:40.829 --> 00:05:42.750 and all who believed were together, had all things 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:44.569 in common. They're selling their possessions 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:47.180 and belongings and distributing. the proceeds 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:49.920 to all as any had need. Day by day, attending 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:51.680 the temple together, breaking bread in their 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:54.139 homes. They received their food with glad, generous 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:57.100 hearts, praising God, having favor with all people. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:59.519 And the Lord... added to their number day by 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:03.019 day those who were being saved. I know as I read 00:06:03.019 --> 00:06:06.920 that you would say, hmm, that passage gets preached 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:08.939 on a lot. And actually I'm not going to spend 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:10.759 a long time preaching on that passage, but I'm 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:13.199 going to end with it. I'm headed there. I want 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:15.480 to get that direction. To set up my preaching 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:18.060 style, it's not a style that, you know, I happen 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:19.819 to teach preachers at school. It's not a style 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:23.600 I encourage anyone to follow. Sometimes students 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:26.740 will end up in a church and we just want to listen 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:28.160 to how you do things. And I'll say, well, what 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:29.899 you hear this morning, do not do in class. You 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:32.860 will fail. So I don't follow my own instructions. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.279 I'm going to get to this verse, but I'm going 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:37.759 to give you the history before we get there. 00:06:37.779 --> 00:06:41.000 I'm going to tell it in story. I will spend usually 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.079 90 % of my time on the introduction. And then 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:47.620 once we get to the sermon, it will really hop 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:51.060 fast. So that's what we're going to do. I happen 00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:53.689 to believe this. I happen to believe that the 00:06:53.689 --> 00:06:56.589 story of the Bible is really, really important. 00:06:57.329 --> 00:06:59.610 And so I've given my life to understanding that 00:06:59.610 --> 00:07:02.029 story. I had to do something because I had a 00:07:02.029 --> 00:07:04.129 friend that I got saved with. He fell away from 00:07:04.129 --> 00:07:06.990 Christ. And in falling away from Christ, he started 00:07:06.990 --> 00:07:09.069 not believing in many things the Bible said. 00:07:09.410 --> 00:07:11.689 And so he would challenge me. He would challenge 00:07:11.689 --> 00:07:14.949 me on certain areas of scripture that I really... 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:18.319 was frankly weak in. And so for two reasons, 00:07:18.420 --> 00:07:21.199 I decided to do something. I decided to inspect, 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:24.339 and I literally have in some detail, I literally 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:26.759 decided to inspect the whole Bible to see if 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:29.600 God, because I think at least some pastors should 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.879 be able to say this, has God been absolutely 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:36.879 truthful to his word? here and happy to announce 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:39.240 to you, you may not be able to get to do what 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:40.899 I do because somebody may not pay your salary 00:07:40.899 --> 00:07:42.980 so you can do it, but I'm happy to announce in 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:45.120 detail you could study the word of God and you 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:48.399 could declare he is faithful to his word. This 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:50.939 is not even a ground of faith that I stand on 00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:54.259 anymore. This is just an absolute fact. If you 00:07:54.259 --> 00:07:57.040 study him, if God said it, he will do it. You 00:07:57.040 --> 00:07:58.800 can count on it. I'm not saying that because 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:00.639 I've heard it from other people. I'm saying it 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:03.910 because I've looked at it and investigated. myself. 00:08:04.009 --> 00:08:06.810 And so I'm captured by the story of the Bible. 00:08:07.050 --> 00:08:09.470 And I realize as I tell the story of the Bible, 00:08:09.529 --> 00:08:12.149 it may seem a little bit different or awkward 00:08:12.149 --> 00:08:14.569 to you. And I'm just kind of don't reject it 00:08:14.569 --> 00:08:17.930 out of hand. Just kind of let me settle the story 00:08:17.930 --> 00:08:19.689 in there the way that I settled the story in 00:08:19.689 --> 00:08:21.889 there for you, because it will make sense of 00:08:21.889 --> 00:08:23.990 the end of this and what I believe prophetically 00:08:23.990 --> 00:08:26.569 God wants to do in your future. Simple little 00:08:26.569 --> 00:08:29.449 title to the message this morning. It is just 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:33.789 fresh. Because I believe that you're coming upon 00:08:33.789 --> 00:08:36.190 a 20 -year mark in this church, and what is going 00:08:36.190 --> 00:08:38.210 to be heralded over the 20 -year mark in this 00:08:38.210 --> 00:08:41.730 church is fresh. God is going to do fresh things. 00:08:41.870 --> 00:08:44.129 There's yet thresholds to break through. There's 00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:46.450 yet doors to open. There's yet things to do that 00:08:46.450 --> 00:08:49.629 you have not done yet that are yet going to happen. 00:08:49.730 --> 00:08:52.690 God is going to pour out a spirit of freshness 00:08:52.690 --> 00:08:56.570 on you. You may say, well, our pastor is getting 00:08:57.149 --> 00:08:59.490 older, but he will be like Paul, say, hey, maybe 00:08:59.490 --> 00:09:02.330 my outer body, maybe it looks like it's getting 00:09:02.330 --> 00:09:07.490 older. The inner self is not fading. Some guys, 00:09:07.509 --> 00:09:09.769 they have to look forward to retirement because 00:09:09.769 --> 00:09:12.509 the inside is fading with the outside. Some people 00:09:12.509 --> 00:09:14.029 ask me, when are you going to retire? I don't 00:09:14.029 --> 00:09:16.350 know. I'll let you know when it happens. How 00:09:16.350 --> 00:09:18.769 are you planning for retirement? I can't think 00:09:18.769 --> 00:09:20.590 that way. If I'm planning for retirement, I'll 00:09:20.590 --> 00:09:22.330 start getting old. I don't know when it's going 00:09:22.330 --> 00:09:24.889 to happen. It's not my business. I am just in 00:09:24.889 --> 00:09:27.889 this thing to go and hoping that the road behind 00:09:27.889 --> 00:09:30.070 me is so well that whoever's coming along behind, 00:09:30.269 --> 00:09:32.190 as the song would go this morning, they'll take 00:09:32.190 --> 00:09:34.490 it on. And I believe that will happen here. I 00:09:34.490 --> 00:09:36.509 believe that your pastor and his wife wife are 00:09:36.509 --> 00:09:39.269 going to go strong and strong and strong and 00:09:39.269 --> 00:09:42.429 strong and laying things out for who is coming 00:09:42.429 --> 00:09:46.009 and you have a fresh future in front of you, 00:09:46.049 --> 00:09:50.909 not a bad one. Acts is kind of surrounded by 00:09:50.909 --> 00:09:53.169 two little verses. It goes like this. Jesus, 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:57.509 he presented himself alive after his suffering 00:09:57.509 --> 00:10:00.889 by many proofs, appearing to them for 40 days, 00:10:00.970 --> 00:10:03.789 speaking about the kingdom of God. That's how 00:10:03.789 --> 00:10:07.120 the book of Acts starts. The book of Acts ends 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:10.960 kind of interesting too. Paul now is facing, 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:16.419 getting ready to face his court case or his moment 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:18.679 before the emperor, and he says this. He lived 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:22.379 in Rome two whole years at his own expense and 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:26.190 welcomed all who came to him. proclaiming the 00:10:26.190 --> 00:10:28.750 kingdom of God. You see the two bookends. Jesus 00:10:28.750 --> 00:10:31.129 started proclaiming the kingdom of God. Paul 00:10:31.129 --> 00:10:33.389 finishes the book proclaiming the kingdom of 00:10:33.389 --> 00:10:35.009 God because there's supposed to be something 00:10:35.009 --> 00:10:38.370 essential about the forward going movement of 00:10:38.370 --> 00:10:41.809 the kingdom of God. And so on that day when Jesus 00:10:41.809 --> 00:10:43.649 is gathering them back to the beginning of the 00:10:43.649 --> 00:10:46.049 book, when they're all gathered together, they 00:10:46.049 --> 00:10:48.070 have a question that they want to ask. They said, 00:10:48.090 --> 00:10:50.070 so when they come together, they ask him, Lord, 00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:54.649 will you now? Now restore the kingdom to Israel. 00:10:54.970 --> 00:10:57.049 Everything you're doing is about the kingdom. 00:10:57.149 --> 00:11:01.179 So is it going to happen now? Is Israel going 00:11:01.179 --> 00:11:04.940 to be now the top of the nations? Is Israel going 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:07.139 to receive the glory that's prophesied about 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:09.799 in the Old Testament? Is it going to happen now? 00:11:10.259 --> 00:11:14.200 We get the imagery here. There were 12 sons of 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:16.379 Jacob, and they were kind of goof -offs, and 00:11:16.379 --> 00:11:19.299 they kind of messed up. But you have selected 00:11:19.299 --> 00:11:22.820 12 apostles minus one, but we can get a guy to 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.659 replace him. So there's 12 of us. Are you at 00:11:25.659 --> 00:11:27.919 this time going to give us government posts in 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:31.269 the kingdom? so that we can be set above all 00:11:31.269 --> 00:11:34.350 nations. And then we can be like you said in 00:11:34.350 --> 00:11:38.490 the Old Testament, Israel can then become a blessing 00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:42.769 to all nations and all nations can get saved. 00:11:43.889 --> 00:11:46.429 We jump in the car, we go to California every 00:11:46.429 --> 00:11:48.490 year when our kids were little, driving the car 00:11:48.490 --> 00:11:51.350 to California, jump in the car, getting ready 00:11:51.350 --> 00:11:54.049 to make the long trip. We get to Bridgeport, 00:11:54.090 --> 00:11:55.529 if you know where that's at, about 20 minutes 00:11:55.529 --> 00:11:58.129 away. And one of the kids says, I gotta go to 00:11:58.129 --> 00:12:01.240 the bathroom. bathroom. And so we stop at Bridgeport 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:03.299 and we get them all packed up in the car. And 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:04.899 then the kids, you know, you're five minutes 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:07.120 down the road. They're saying, are we there yet? 00:12:08.139 --> 00:12:10.059 And then we approach Woodburn and then the other 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:12.820 kid says, I got to go to the bathroom. And so 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:14.840 you stop at Woodburn and they get them all back 00:12:14.840 --> 00:12:17.000 in the car. And then they're saying, are we there 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:20.120 yet? And then in Salem, your wife's got to go 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:22.860 to the bathroom. And then, are we there yet? 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:26.600 No, this is a long journey. It's going to take 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:29.539 some time. And they're wondering on that day, 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:33.340 Jesus, are we there yet? Because they see the 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:36.019 Bible differently than we see it. The whole Old 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:38.000 Testament was about God doing something in Israel 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.019 that was going to save the world. And they just 00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:42.419 weren't seeing it happen. And they're wondering, 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:44.559 is it gonna happen now? Because we know that 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:46.299 this thing is gonna happen with Israel because 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:47.879 we can read the kind of the prophetic things. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:51.080 Listen, Jesus, when you were crucified, you dashed 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:54.620 our dreams. When that happened, we just said, 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:58.720 oh, there goes Israel down the tubes. So here's 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:00.639 what's going to happen. The world's gonna go 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:03.059 on the way it is. And the rich and the powerful 00:13:03.059 --> 00:13:06.159 are gonna continue to brutally oppress the poor 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:10.669 and the needy. And our hopes were just dashed 00:13:10.669 --> 00:13:13.070 when that happened, Jesus. But now your resurrection 00:13:13.070 --> 00:13:16.970 has changed absolutely everything. And is it 00:13:16.970 --> 00:13:20.649 going to happen now? Is it now going to be the 00:13:20.649 --> 00:13:22.549 time you're going to do it? The most difficult 00:13:22.549 --> 00:13:24.889 thing you and I will ever do in life is lose 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:29.789 our dream for an earthly kingdom. It's the hardest 00:13:29.789 --> 00:13:32.480 thing. any of us will ever do. It was the most 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.960 difficult thing I ever did in my life. One of 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:38.399 the greatest disciplines that ever entered into 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:42.220 my life is when I realized that the dream I had 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:45.940 for the church was killing my gratitude for the 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:49.080 very thing that God was giving me right now. 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:53.460 My vision for the future of what could be oftentimes 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:56.480 was killing my very gratitude for what God was 00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:59.480 putting in my hand right now. And then I was 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:01.840 envisioning a future that was much better than 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:04.100 the future I had now because I wanted a different 00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:06.360 future from the future that I had right now because 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:08.740 I didn't like what God was putting in my hand. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:12.820 And I realized I had to lose all that earthly 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:15.480 desire for an earthly kingdom. And I had to come 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:20.299 to say, I love what you have given me. Show me 00:14:20.299 --> 00:14:23.440 more. of what you want to do that you've already 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:25.600 done. That's kind of a whole different kind of 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.379 vision for your future, but it was a very hard 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:32.240 thing to do because God isn't into the ordinary 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:35.720 power structures and the common subjugation of 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:37.820 people under certain hierarchies. That's not 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:40.299 what he does. He's into changing lives and hearts. 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:44.080 We have an earthly dream, but God, what does 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:47.059 he have? He just has a heavenly dream, and this 00:14:47.059 --> 00:14:52.399 is prophetic. God has a new... heavenly assignment 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:58.179 for you. He has a kingdom assignment. No one 00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:02.919 should be asking, are we there yet? You're way 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.799 more at the beginning than you are at the end. 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:09.620 And I do think in 20 -year cycles, and I realize, 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:12.340 and I just got such great news for you. You're 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:15.039 going to fly through your 20 -year cycle, and 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:16.860 it's even going to get better. You're going to 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:19.379 feel like you planted this church all over again 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:21.679 in certain ways because of what God is going 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:23.980 to give you and show you and how he's going to 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:26.000 prosper you. You've got good things ahead of 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.679 you, but he's got an assignment for you. What 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:32.919 is of most importance? is actually not what happens 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:35.700 in time and space, but what is really important 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:39.679 is what happens for eternity. We're not there 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:43.860 yet. You're not there yet. Our whole society, 00:15:44.200 --> 00:15:46.500 and somebody did this in the prayer room this 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:48.759 morning, whoever you are, great job. Our whole 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:51.299 culture, church culture is built on a mission 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:54.220 to get people to heaven. God just weeps over 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:57.259 that because his mission is to bring heaven to 00:15:57.259 --> 00:16:01.120 earth. That's your job. He wants you. to bring 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:03.559 heaven to earth. Well, what about someday going 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:06.419 to heaven? Really dream about it. If you want 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:09.919 to be some bare -butted angel with a bow and 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:12.940 arrow and a harp sitting on a cloud, if that 00:16:12.940 --> 00:16:18.340 really is what you want in life, honestly, is 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:25.419 that it? How about if you read the prophets and 00:16:25.419 --> 00:16:28.460 you dream a little bit about Jesus coming to 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:31.690 earth? and setting up his throne in his kingdom 00:16:31.690 --> 00:16:34.669 here. And this world where we're living now, 00:16:34.809 --> 00:16:38.190 it works and operates without sin and without 00:16:38.190 --> 00:16:42.490 lust and without iniquity in pure love, awesome 00:16:42.490 --> 00:16:46.330 justice. What about that for heaven? What about 00:16:46.330 --> 00:16:48.990 God finishing on this planet what he wanted to 00:16:48.990 --> 00:16:51.409 do all along? We have a mission, and it's not 00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:55.929 to get there, but it's to usher our king in here. 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:58.840 You're not necessarily ever going to sense where 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:00.960 you are in the calendar. Like, where are we in 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:03.039 the calendar of you actually coming and appearing? 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:07.720 We may never know, but we have a mission. We're 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:09.700 in the in -between stage of what God started 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.000 and what he's going to fulfill. And what Jesus 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.160 was really saying that day, you can disagree 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:18.319 with this, but let me just carry it over. And 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:20.359 if you could just let it sit. I'm not sure about 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:22.640 that. Let me carry it over and let it just land 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:26.339 on some of you. Jesus said of Israel, this is 00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:30.500 my firstborn, but when Yahweh said of Israel, 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.960 this is my firstborn, but when Jesus comes up 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:35.559 out of the water at baptism, God says something 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:37.319 very interesting to him, very significant. He 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:40.859 said, this is my son. Paul picks up on that. 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:43.819 That's why he uses so much the word in Christ, 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.660 in Christ, in Christ. What happens at that moment? 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.319 Well, let me just fast track it. Jesus becomes 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:53.049 at that moment Israel. And it says, here's what 00:17:53.049 --> 00:17:55.410 I'm going to do. I'm going to take Israel into 00:17:55.410 --> 00:17:57.509 me, and then I'm going to do something else wonderful. 00:17:57.690 --> 00:17:59.990 I'm going to take the Gentile world into me, 00:18:00.069 --> 00:18:04.329 and I am going to create an epic body, a new 00:18:04.329 --> 00:18:07.690 nation, a true Israel, and every promise I ever 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:09.829 made about saving the world through Israel, I 00:18:09.829 --> 00:18:11.569 am going to do it, and I'm going to begin with 00:18:11.569 --> 00:18:15.839 the person Jesus Christ. We're so used to hearing, 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.740 but it's an epic story. Like, God, how did you 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:21.759 figure out to do that? I would have never thought 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.880 to do that. You guys, when you look at the Bible, 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:26.380 no human being could have ever figured out to 00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:30.099 do what God did. It's amazing. And you and I 00:18:30.099 --> 00:18:33.740 are a part of it. As soon as we came in Christ, 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:36.799 we became part of something eternal and epic 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:41.180 and glorious and wonderful. This is a historical 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:46.690 event. And it's incredible. And so he said, listen, 00:18:46.869 --> 00:18:49.710 not for you to know the times and seasons, you 00:18:49.710 --> 00:18:53.309 know, because the Father has those times and 00:18:53.309 --> 00:18:56.710 seasons under his fixed authority. Well, Jesus 00:18:56.710 --> 00:18:59.529 said, all authority has been given to me. Jesus 00:18:59.529 --> 00:19:03.450 is that fixed authority. And all through Jesus 00:19:03.450 --> 00:19:06.769 comes the fixed moments and the fixed authority. 00:19:07.170 --> 00:19:10.480 And he's watching you. He has authority over 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:16.160 your season and over your time. 18, 19, the glorious 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:20.640 setup, 2020. And then 21, you're celebrating 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:25.880 your 20th year. And all of a sudden, the fixed 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:32.099 authority of God, Jesus, unleashes fresh power 00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:38.019 on you to witness like you've not yet witnessed. 00:19:38.859 --> 00:19:42.799 That's what I believe is coming. There is, he 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.259 said, look, what is a witness? Well, when a emperor 00:19:46.259 --> 00:19:52.339 would die, they would send out a messenger. And 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:57.539 the messenger would say, so and so is dead, but 00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:02.200 Claudius reigns. There's a new king on the throne. 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:05.980 And everybody knows this, bad government is better 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:10.349 than anarchy. And so a good news guy would go 00:20:10.349 --> 00:20:13.309 out and bear witness. There's a new king on the 00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:16.849 throne. There will not be anarchy. He will prevail. 00:20:17.230 --> 00:20:20.150 And what is the witness of the church? We're 00:20:20.150 --> 00:20:22.829 running everywhere we can and we're saying, there's 00:20:22.829 --> 00:20:27.890 a new king on the throne. And all the anarchy 00:20:27.890 --> 00:20:31.609 and all the rebellion, it will be overthrown. 00:20:31.650 --> 00:20:36.500 His will will remain ultimate. And so we don't 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:39.420 know how long it's going to go, but we know that 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:43.079 the fixed authority, the times to do things are 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:45.720 in his hands and he empowers us. And I'm just 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:50.859 trying to say simply, he has more power coming 00:20:50.859 --> 00:20:54.579 on you than you've ever experienced. It's like, 00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:57.099 wow, we've done some good things and you have. 00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:00.559 Rejoice. Thank God for it. But it becomes the 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.369 road. It becomes the foundation. for the next 00:21:04.369 --> 00:21:08.609 things that God wants to do. And are you ever 00:21:08.609 --> 00:21:12.069 going to love the next things that God is going 00:21:12.069 --> 00:21:14.730 to do? Because more and more, you're going to 00:21:14.730 --> 00:21:17.289 be taking anarchy down and you're going to be 00:21:17.289 --> 00:21:20.250 helping people give their allegiance to Jesus 00:21:20.250 --> 00:21:22.569 Christ. So what do we do in the middle time? 00:21:22.710 --> 00:21:24.829 We're like, we wait and we witness, wait and 00:21:24.829 --> 00:21:26.029 witness, wait and witness. What were you doing 00:21:26.029 --> 00:21:28.619 this weekend? You're waiting this weekend. Because 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:31.500 your witness is going to grow. The whole world 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:36.359 thinks that we need saving from death. But we 00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:39.579 don't need saving from death as much as we need 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:43.420 saving from anarchy. I need saving from my rebellion. 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:46.200 If God can get me saved from my rebellion, I'll 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:49.740 have a chance at being saved from my death. Okay, 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.599 so that's chapter 1 of Acts. We're getting to 00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:54.640 this other point here. Got to get through Acts 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:59.279 2 first. Acts 2, it says this. When the day of 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:03.740 Pentecost arrived, they were all together in 00:22:03.740 --> 00:22:07.640 one place. And suddenly, there came from heaven 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:10.259 a sound like mighty rushing wind, and it filled 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:12.420 the entire house where they were sitting. By 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:14.160 the way, when you look at how the Bible is written, 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:18.700 the New Testament is a rewrite of the Old Testament. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:23.220 So you can see that the old covenant is being 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:25.500 replaced by a new covenant. And I could go kind 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:27.200 of through all the things that Jewish people 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:29.160 would be very aware of, but this is one of them 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:31.359 right here. They're picking up on it here. Luke 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:34.220 picked up on it right here. And this wind, and 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:36.480 it filled the whole entire house where they were 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.180 sitting. And divided tongues as a fire appeared 00:22:39.180 --> 00:22:41.339 to them, resting on each one of them. And they 00:22:41.339 --> 00:22:43.720 were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:46.339 speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them 00:22:46.339 --> 00:22:49.819 utterance. This thing, Pentecost. Let me just 00:22:49.819 --> 00:22:51.680 show you just one thing so you have this imagery 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:55.720 in your head. Moses went up the mountain on the 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:57.599 day of Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:02.039 He went up the mountain into the storm and he 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:06.460 brought down the law. Jesus ascended up. into 00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:09.019 heaven. And on the day of Pentecost, 10 days 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:12.140 later, he sent down the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:14.299 That's not missed on good Jewish people. They 00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:17.099 would understand that writing. They would understand, 00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:19.539 hold it. There is a new Passover. There's a new 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:22.619 Pentecost among us. Pentecost, what was that? 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:26.619 It was, you could say it was the feast of first 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:28.200 fruits. In other words, they would go out and 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:29.660 they would, you know, you guys would know this. 00:23:30.140 --> 00:23:32.259 take out a bunch of wheat and they bring it to 00:23:32.259 --> 00:23:33.940 God and they say we're not going to eat this 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:36.720 we want you to have this wheat because we're 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:39.400 telling you this we are so grateful for our fields 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:41.980 and we also want you to know something else we 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.619 believe that the harvest that is coming is going 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:46.359 to come because of what you're going to do for 00:23:46.359 --> 00:23:49.480 us that belongs to you also so that that was 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:51.519 one of the things but the other thing that Pentecost 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:55.099 was really really really screaming is that God 00:23:55.099 --> 00:24:01.130 took a people out of Egypt, he brought them to 00:24:01.130 --> 00:24:05.990 a mountain and he said, here, here is the culture 00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:08.789 we're going to build that if you will follow 00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:11.769 me and listen to my voice, I will take you into 00:24:11.769 --> 00:24:14.089 the promised land. And he's seeing this here. 00:24:14.170 --> 00:24:16.289 So what's happening is the day of Pentecost, 00:24:16.289 --> 00:24:18.390 Holy Spirit's coming down and the imagery is 00:24:18.390 --> 00:24:22.009 quite obvious. Listen, as we begin to live under 00:24:22.009 --> 00:24:26.000 the grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. Everything 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:28.460 that God wants to do in our life, every promise 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:30.299 that he gives us, everything he wants to fulfill, 00:24:30.500 --> 00:24:32.940 they Pentecostal, they're realizing God is saying, 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:35.759 I'm going to fulfill it. Can I just give you 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:37.900 this little thing? We said, have you ever like 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:39.839 received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? And 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:42.059 so sometimes if you're Pentecostal, you're thinking 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:44.119 this way. Have you received the baptism of the 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:46.369 Holy Spirit in that? Have you been prayed for 00:24:46.369 --> 00:24:48.470 and do you speak in tongues? And so when we use 00:24:48.470 --> 00:24:50.190 the term baptism of the Holy Spirit, that's what 00:24:50.190 --> 00:24:51.630 we mean. And there's nothing wrong with saying 00:24:51.630 --> 00:24:54.710 that. But the Bible uses that term in a little 00:24:54.710 --> 00:24:56.970 bit more literate way. When it's referring to 00:24:56.970 --> 00:24:59.589 the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it's always pushing 00:24:59.589 --> 00:25:02.769 you back to the day of Pentecost. And I don't 00:25:02.769 --> 00:25:04.369 know if you realize this, but this is a wonderful 00:25:04.369 --> 00:25:07.369 thing. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. 00:25:07.670 --> 00:25:10.269 There is one baptism in the Holy Spirit. When 00:25:10.269 --> 00:25:13.059 you are filled with the Holy Spirit, You may 00:25:13.059 --> 00:25:15.339 not realize this, but that's an immediate connection 00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:17.880 back there with the day of Pentecost and a promise 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:20.240 that what God has started, he will finish. He's 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:23.000 going to take us into the promised land. So I'm 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:25.140 not diminishing the reality of the baptism. I'm 00:25:25.140 --> 00:25:27.099 just saying that it's not just, hey, I'm speaking 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:30.180 in tongues today. God took you back 2 ,000 years 00:25:30.180 --> 00:25:33.900 and he baptized you in that baptism where he's 00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:36.720 saying, I am still watching over that. And what 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:39.000 I said I would do in the church, I'm going to 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:40.960 do. What I said I'm going to do in your life, 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:43.339 I'm going to do it. It may take a long time. 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:45.440 It may take a long time to get there. You may 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:47.500 get a little tired, but I'm going to get it there 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:50.019 for you. And so there should be something exciting 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:54.259 when you're speaking in tongues. I am connected 00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:58.339 to a world and a people and a life that God's 00:25:58.339 --> 00:26:01.380 very word is going to back up to fulfill someday. 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:13.359 That's Pentecost. So my wife says, Don't yell. 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:24.140 Some people will think you're mad. I'm not mad. 00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:31.559 I'm overtly excited. But I yell for this reason, 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:34.859 because there are moments that I just think you 00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:36.799 need to know that there are certain things that 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:41.619 God has said are emphatic. They will happen. 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:46.380 Devil gets his face up in your mug and say, they're 00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:50.880 not either. You should politely say or yell, 00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:56.019 go to hell. That's what you should say. Because 00:26:56.019 --> 00:27:02.680 what God has said he will do, he will do. He's 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:06.039 going to do it. Okay. Disciples were no longer 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:09.319 an empty, lifeless follower who keeps their distance 00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:12.799 from the presence of God, but believers who were 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:15.759 full of presence and power. You're full. You're 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:18.859 a church full of presence and power. I cannot 00:27:18.859 --> 00:27:21.700 emphasize this more. This is a unique place. 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:24.819 I pastor a great church. We're full of presence 00:27:24.819 --> 00:27:27.740 and power, but not like you, which makes me feel 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:29.740 sorry for you because you have greater responsibility 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:34.650 than I do. Our church can still get by being 00:27:34.650 --> 00:27:37.309 a little bit of a doofus. You cannot, because 00:27:37.309 --> 00:27:40.049 you guys are flying. Okay, here we go. The disciples, 00:27:40.289 --> 00:27:43.569 the disciples were no longer souls waterlogged 00:27:43.569 --> 00:27:46.569 with worldly lusts, but their hearts were set 00:27:46.569 --> 00:27:51.430 on fire. They were lit up by the presence of 00:27:51.430 --> 00:27:55.269 God and his full acceptance. No longer, no longer 00:27:55.269 --> 00:27:57.450 from that moment on was the world left to its 00:27:57.450 --> 00:28:00.529 own anarchy, but it was going to have to face 00:28:00.529 --> 00:28:04.039 hearts that had been transformed. into the same 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:09.319 resurrection substance of Jesus. If you could 00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:12.740 take a fingernail off of Jesus, you would realize 00:28:12.740 --> 00:28:15.319 that it was full of resurrection substance. That 00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:18.700 substance, when you receive Jesus, goes into 00:28:18.700 --> 00:28:22.079 your heart. That's why he says, listen, the same 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:26.200 spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will quicken 00:28:26.200 --> 00:28:29.400 your mortal body. I mean, the same resurrection 00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:32.789 substance that was in Jesus is in me. I might 00:28:32.789 --> 00:28:36.269 be dying on the outside, not on the inside. Why? 00:28:36.569 --> 00:28:39.670 Because there's the same resurrection life that 00:28:39.670 --> 00:28:42.490 was all over Jesus. I'm experiencing and you're 00:28:42.490 --> 00:28:48.170 experiencing now. They have the heavenly wind 00:28:48.170 --> 00:28:52.490 power and the fire force within them that was 00:28:52.490 --> 00:28:59.180 in Jesus. And anarchy cannot tame our... own 00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:03.359 rebellion against that rebellious enemy. Because 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:05.799 Jesus did, if you can get that all, because Jesus 00:29:05.799 --> 00:29:09.200 came to start his own revolution against the 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:12.720 revolution. Because the revolution became the 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:15.339 standard, but it is still a revolution against 00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:19.680 God. So God says, I will make my own revolution 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:21.619 against that revolution and I will overthrow 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:24.920 that revolution. Which his revolution is the 00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:30.440 standard. Did that make sense to you? I, the 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:35.420 untamable force of a community of once confused 00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:38.259 and fearful men and women, they became a heavenly 00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:40.799 force and all the earth had to reckon with it. 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:42.680 And I'm telling you, there's earth and world 00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:44.940 that has to reckon with this church. They lived 00:29:44.940 --> 00:29:47.119 together, broadcasting the message and their 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:49.200 message was simple. There's a new king in town 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:54.109 and his will prevails at all times. They're up 00:29:54.109 --> 00:29:58.250 there talking in the room. All of a sudden, they 00:29:58.250 --> 00:30:00.529 stand up. Now, we know they weren't praying. 00:30:01.869 --> 00:30:04.089 When the Holy Spirit came, they weren't praying. 00:30:04.609 --> 00:30:07.609 Really? They're sitting down. Jewish people do 00:30:07.609 --> 00:30:11.119 not pray sitting down. They were sitting down. 00:30:11.380 --> 00:30:13.599 What were they talking about? I don't know, probably 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:15.380 fantasy football, have no idea what they were 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:17.440 talking about, but they were sitting down. I'm 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:19.059 sure they weren't doing that, but they were just 00:30:19.059 --> 00:30:21.839 sitting down. And all of a sudden they rise and 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:24.200 they make a tear, the five, six, seven, eight 00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:27.440 blocks, over to the temple. And all of a sudden 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:29.900 it says, people start saying, we hear them telling 00:30:29.900 --> 00:30:32.700 in our own tongues the mighty works of God. They 00:30:32.700 --> 00:30:35.440 begin to witness about King Jesus and his great 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:38.210 and his mighty works. And then someone said, 00:30:38.269 --> 00:30:41.549 well, they're drunken. And Peter stands up and 00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:43.670 he says, guys, they're not drunk. They're not 00:30:43.670 --> 00:30:48.890 drunk. The prophet Joel said something. He said, 00:30:48.970 --> 00:30:50.990 in the last days, the Holy Spirit will be poured 00:30:50.990 --> 00:30:59.049 out on all flesh. That day is here now. He says, 00:30:59.170 --> 00:31:03.789 oh, excuse me. David also said there would be 00:31:03.789 --> 00:31:10.940 a day in which God. would send his son. Odd thing. 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:15.079 His son would also be the son of David. But David 00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:20.319 would say unto him, Yahweh, you're my Lord. I'm 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:23.960 confused. Then he says, that day he was talking, 00:31:24.039 --> 00:31:26.240 the day that Joel was talking about happened. 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:30.079 The day that David was talking about happened 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:35.529 in the person of Jesus Christ. And he says, We 00:31:35.529 --> 00:31:41.309 are witnesses. We're telling you, there's a new 00:31:41.309 --> 00:31:44.529 king in town and the world is in a heck of a 00:31:44.529 --> 00:31:47.269 lot of trouble because he just poured out his 00:31:47.269 --> 00:31:51.730 Holy Spirit on everyone. That makes everybody 00:31:51.730 --> 00:31:57.950 potential candidates to receive him. And I have 00:31:57.950 --> 00:32:00.569 some bad news for you guys. The fact that Jesus 00:32:00.569 --> 00:32:05.549 was raised from the dead proves, uh -oh. He was 00:32:05.549 --> 00:32:11.849 an innocent man, and you killed him. And the 00:32:11.849 --> 00:32:14.450 fact that he was raised from the dead not only 00:32:14.450 --> 00:32:16.230 does it prove he was an innocent man and God 00:32:16.230 --> 00:32:19.670 vindicated him from you killing him, killing 00:32:19.670 --> 00:32:22.569 an innocent man, he also, because he raised from 00:32:22.569 --> 00:32:26.329 the dead, is declaring, this is my son. This 00:32:26.329 --> 00:32:29.829 is the Messiah. We don't want to equivocate on 00:32:29.829 --> 00:32:32.849 this point. We don't want to downplay this point. 00:32:34.669 --> 00:32:39.369 Jesus' spirit did not come back to life. This 00:32:39.369 --> 00:32:43.789 is not a ghost. Here's what we're going to do. 00:32:44.450 --> 00:32:48.109 We're going to have the Roman government hang 00:32:48.109 --> 00:32:51.690 us on crosses. We're going to have them pelt 00:32:51.690 --> 00:32:55.750 our bodies with rocks. And here's the point we're 00:32:55.750 --> 00:33:02.130 going to make. Jesus ain't no ghost. His body 00:33:02.130 --> 00:33:08.539 resurrected. He has a body. He's alive. Now, 00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:12.099 I know what you're thinking. Yeah, and he ascended 00:33:12.099 --> 00:33:14.400 into the heavens, into the throne room of God. 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:21.660 I don't think so. Really? I think he's seated 00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:25.519 at the right hand of God. Well, where is God's 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:31.039 right hand? Just inside the created world. If 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:35.019 he's left the created world, folks, Then he has 00:33:35.019 --> 00:33:42.859 abdicated his throne. He's here. He's here. He 00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:45.619 cannot be seen. That's why Paul says many times 00:33:45.619 --> 00:33:50.099 when he not comes again, but when he reappears. 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:53.319 How should we be living before Jesus Christ? 00:33:53.579 --> 00:33:56.740 He's here. He's in the universe. He is king. 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.539 He's around. He's pouring out his Holy Spirit. 00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:02.140 I think the fact that his Holy Spirit here is 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:04.700 actually... evidence and proof. He's still in 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:07.259 the created material world, although he cannot 00:34:07.259 --> 00:34:09.480 be seen. Now, I don't know if that excites you, 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:12.579 but it gets me real excited. He's with me. When 00:34:12.579 --> 00:34:15.860 the Holy Spirit is with me, Jesus himself is 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:18.940 with me. The guy that has the fixed authority, 00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:21.320 the guy that has everything, the guy that has 00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:24.860 the word, Jesus who has it all, he is with me. 00:34:25.019 --> 00:34:28.460 If Jesus is with me, God himself is with me. 00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:31.119 and the Holy Spirit is all around me. Now, you 00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:33.059 may not like seeing it that way, but I think 00:34:33.059 --> 00:34:34.500 that's what they were saying. They were saying, 00:34:34.599 --> 00:34:38.119 oops, if we could just venture a little thought 00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:40.880 in here, we don't want to get anybody upset, 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:47.179 but let all the house of Israel therefore know. 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:50.880 For certain, this is a certainty, for certain, 00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:57.420 that God has made Yahweh and Christo, Messiah. 00:34:58.650 --> 00:35:03.670 This Jesus whom you crucified. Not wanting to 00:35:03.670 --> 00:35:08.929 make you mad, but just saying. Now, you know 00:35:08.929 --> 00:35:11.969 what I think they'd want to do? Let's kill him, 00:35:12.010 --> 00:35:16.309 but they didn't. This is incredible. They said, 00:35:16.329 --> 00:35:21.349 uh -oh, he is alive. They were cut to the heart. 00:35:22.030 --> 00:35:24.489 Conviction rested upon them, the Bible says. 00:35:24.730 --> 00:35:28.130 And they said, what should we do? And they said, 00:35:28.210 --> 00:35:30.110 okay, you better get ready because this is winding 00:35:30.110 --> 00:35:35.630 up fast now. They said, you need to repent and 00:35:35.630 --> 00:35:40.130 be baptized. Do I have a young fellow that could 00:35:40.130 --> 00:35:42.210 just come up here for me just for a minute? Would 00:35:42.210 --> 00:35:44.110 you send somebody? I won't embarrass you much. 00:35:45.690 --> 00:35:49.510 Come on up here. Great. I've got to show you 00:35:49.510 --> 00:35:52.289 what repentance looks like. Come on up here if 00:35:52.289 --> 00:35:54.809 you would. I'm just going to have you stand right 00:35:54.809 --> 00:35:56.570 here if you would. Just stand right there if 00:35:56.570 --> 00:35:58.550 you would. Here's what repentance looks like. 00:35:58.570 --> 00:36:00.349 You can look at me because you're going to kind 00:36:00.349 --> 00:36:03.010 of get in on my thing here. Here's what repentance 00:36:03.010 --> 00:36:07.090 looks like. I'm living, and I'm living in this 00:36:07.090 --> 00:36:11.449 world like this. The mirror represents culture, 00:36:11.590 --> 00:36:14.070 which is God to me. And I look in the mirror 00:36:14.070 --> 00:36:18.889 and I say, wow, wow. I don't know if you've noticed, 00:36:18.909 --> 00:36:23.329 but... Some things have happened to me. I'm wondering 00:36:23.329 --> 00:36:25.889 if anybody would venture a few hair plugs. I've 00:36:25.889 --> 00:36:28.389 lost a little bit on top. Maybe I could be improved 00:36:28.389 --> 00:36:30.670 with that a little bit. Maybe is there a doctor 00:36:30.670 --> 00:36:32.610 in the house and somebody could tie my face behind 00:36:32.610 --> 00:36:34.690 my neck to get rid of some of these wrinkles. 00:36:34.789 --> 00:36:38.429 Maybe that would help somebody. I could use a 00:36:38.429 --> 00:36:41.429 trainer, but then that's dieting. But I do like 00:36:41.429 --> 00:36:42.889 this mirror because this mirror actually makes 00:36:42.889 --> 00:36:44.510 me look a little bit thinner. So I'm taking this 00:36:44.510 --> 00:36:47.460 one home with me. But all of a sudden, I begin 00:36:47.460 --> 00:36:51.460 to evaluate me as culture sees me and as I see 00:36:51.460 --> 00:36:57.199 myself. And I become evil because I want to look 00:36:57.199 --> 00:37:01.340 good to culture. And then every once in a while, 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:04.159 now, they sent up the perfect specimen. Would 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:06.079 you go ahead? Just flex that a little bit. I'm 00:37:06.079 --> 00:37:12.780 saying it. Oh, why didn't you send up somebody 00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:15.519 else? But anyway, so all of a sudden, what's 00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:18.280 your name? Jake, he's wanting to come in here 00:37:18.280 --> 00:37:20.619 and he's wanting to get in on my mirror and see 00:37:20.619 --> 00:37:24.079 himself. I'm saying, no, no, no. And so I'm constantly 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:26.639 saying, no, I want to be the center of my world. 00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:29.699 But the whole thing, the world is constantly 00:37:29.699 --> 00:37:31.900 trying to get me to look at like this guy and 00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:34.199 say, like you could get in the gym more. They're 00:37:34.199 --> 00:37:37.679 constantly trying to. And so what's happening 00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:40.239 is my whole world is measuring myself against 00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:42.260 culture and what culture thinks I should look 00:37:42.260 --> 00:37:44.340 and how much money culture thinks I should make. 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:49.539 That becomes my whole world. And Peter says, 00:37:49.780 --> 00:37:52.500 you've got to repent. Thank you very much for 00:37:52.500 --> 00:37:57.880 your time. Peter says, thank you, this guy. Peter 00:37:57.880 --> 00:38:01.619 says, you've got to repent. So when we think 00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:03.739 of repentance, sometimes we think confess sin. 00:38:04.260 --> 00:38:05.960 Confession is part of repentance, but that's 00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:09.760 what repentance means. In the Greek world, when 00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:11.760 they use repentance, I've got to change my whole 00:38:11.760 --> 00:38:15.179 mind about this. But that was not how the Hebrews 00:38:15.179 --> 00:38:17.119 thought in the Old Testament about repentance. 00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:19.019 Here's what they thought. Peter says, you've 00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:21.219 got to repent. Here's what they thought. You've 00:38:21.219 --> 00:38:23.420 got to repent. You've got to turn completely 00:38:23.420 --> 00:38:27.760 away from this. And you've got to turn to God. 00:38:31.199 --> 00:38:33.960 You've got to move towards God because he has 00:38:33.960 --> 00:38:38.639 two gifts for you. He has the gifts. A forgiveness 00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:44.940 and the Holy Spirit. I need to turn away from 00:38:44.940 --> 00:38:48.619 everything because I gotta say, accept me, love 00:38:48.619 --> 00:38:55.119 me. I gotta do it so I'm fitting in. And then 00:38:55.119 --> 00:38:57.880 I get a good religious sermon. You're a sinner. 00:38:58.719 --> 00:39:00.559 I really am. You're forgiven, you're forgiven 00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:03.360 because it's in the Bible. You're forgiven. You 00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:06.440 know whether or not you're forgiven? If you have 00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:11.719 turned, From God, okay? And now you're moving 00:39:11.719 --> 00:39:15.000 towards allegiance to the Father. You get a gift. 00:39:15.159 --> 00:39:23.340 You know what your gift is? Forgiveness. When 00:39:23.340 --> 00:39:25.139 you receive the gift of forgiveness, you start 00:39:25.139 --> 00:39:27.579 forgetting about whether you're forgiven or not. 00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:32.179 That's not very important to you anymore. What 00:39:32.179 --> 00:39:34.559 becomes important to you is making sure you're 00:39:34.559 --> 00:39:36.800 giving forgiveness everywhere. There's a new 00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:38.920 king in town and you are not going to believe 00:39:38.920 --> 00:39:43.059 this. He forgives your sins. Smack, kit. He forgives 00:39:43.059 --> 00:39:45.719 that too. Smack, kit. He forgives that too. Smack. 00:39:46.460 --> 00:39:49.719 The gun my wife said I was going to go get, it 00:39:49.719 --> 00:39:52.980 was a water pistol. She was off on that. I never 00:39:52.980 --> 00:39:55.599 thought that at all. But do you see there in 00:39:55.599 --> 00:39:58.269 that little moment right there? In that little 00:39:58.269 --> 00:40:00.150 moment, it shows me how much I need Jesus. I'd 00:40:00.150 --> 00:40:02.010 forgotten all about this. I better go get a gun. 00:40:02.170 --> 00:40:03.909 That was my response. If someone's in the house, 00:40:03.969 --> 00:40:06.670 I gotta go get a gun. My response was, Jesus, 00:40:06.829 --> 00:40:09.030 I think I need to move into tongues, maybe a 00:40:09.030 --> 00:40:10.409 little bit of forgiveness, and especially the 00:40:10.409 --> 00:40:11.989 power of the Holy Spirit. Because there's a new 00:40:11.989 --> 00:40:14.550 sheriff in town. He operates by different rules. 00:40:15.090 --> 00:40:16.389 And I'm not saying you shouldn't go get your 00:40:16.389 --> 00:40:18.469 gun. I'm not trying to get that at all. But I'm 00:40:18.469 --> 00:40:22.110 saying, when you have the gift of the Holy Spirit 00:40:22.110 --> 00:40:26.019 and forgiveness, your whole life changes. And 00:40:26.019 --> 00:40:27.980 so everything in that message hinged on that. 00:40:28.039 --> 00:40:30.099 It hinged not just on changing your mind, not 00:40:30.099 --> 00:40:32.059 just on saying, God, forgive me. And all of that's 00:40:32.059 --> 00:40:34.559 good. But it hinges on this. I am turning from 00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:37.340 this being my God. I am turning from giving this 00:40:37.340 --> 00:40:39.780 my allegiance. I am turning away from the world. 00:40:39.960 --> 00:40:42.260 I'm going after God and I'm going to care about 00:40:42.260 --> 00:40:50.699 what he has to say. God is wanting you now to 00:40:50.699 --> 00:40:54.230 save. Because this is what it says next. It says, 00:40:54.329 --> 00:40:56.849 and with many other words, he bore witness saying, 00:40:57.010 --> 00:41:00.469 save yourselves from this crooked generation. 00:41:01.250 --> 00:41:04.289 And what did they do to save themselves from 00:41:04.289 --> 00:41:09.050 their crooked generation? They built a church. 00:41:09.969 --> 00:41:13.670 This is going to go like that. Now I'm going 00:41:13.670 --> 00:41:16.969 to prophesying and meddling. I had a whole other 00:41:16.969 --> 00:41:19.030 beautiful message prepared for you. And I'm standing 00:41:19.030 --> 00:41:21.849 innocently in church last Sunday morning. And 00:41:21.849 --> 00:41:24.289 as I'm worshiping God, getting ready to preach 00:41:24.289 --> 00:41:27.429 this message to my church, not really for your 00:41:27.429 --> 00:41:30.849 church as much as it is for Harrisburg. My wife 00:41:30.849 --> 00:41:32.690 will tell you, I hate preaching two messages 00:41:32.690 --> 00:41:36.789 twice. I don't do it. But I, for the most part, 00:41:36.829 --> 00:41:39.570 have had to do that here to get to this prophetic 00:41:39.570 --> 00:41:41.409 moment. And I'll show you a little picture of 00:41:41.409 --> 00:41:43.409 something that I did in a moment because God 00:41:43.409 --> 00:41:46.050 is wanting to do these things in your church. 00:41:46.329 --> 00:41:51.619 He is going to give you fresh devotion. To the 00:41:51.619 --> 00:41:56.380 word of God, to fellowship, to prayer, to breaking 00:41:56.380 --> 00:41:58.480 bread. It's going to happen this next year. You're 00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:00.719 going to find a fresh devotion. It's going to 00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:04.300 be more exciting than ever. Because I want to 00:42:04.300 --> 00:42:06.659 tell you something. The nations are coming here. 00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:12.760 This is your destiny. Every day of the week, 00:42:12.900 --> 00:42:16.079 someone getting saved in the world because of 00:42:16.079 --> 00:42:18.940 the impact this house is going to have. A fresh 00:42:18.940 --> 00:42:23.820 devotion. Number two, a fresh awe. You're going 00:42:23.820 --> 00:42:26.440 to be in awe. He said it this morning. You're 00:42:26.440 --> 00:42:30.099 going to be in awe of the things that God is 00:42:30.099 --> 00:42:34.480 doing among you. Wonders have to take place before 00:42:34.480 --> 00:42:38.840 signs. You have to be in wonder of what your 00:42:38.840 --> 00:42:41.530 pastors and others are doing. Because then the 00:42:41.530 --> 00:42:43.929 signs, there's going to come, I got to tell you 00:42:43.929 --> 00:42:47.809 this, a fresh generosity on this house. You are 00:42:47.809 --> 00:42:51.650 going to be investing millions in training centers 00:42:51.650 --> 00:42:54.170 and different things across the world. It's going 00:42:54.170 --> 00:42:57.429 to be amazing. Somehow, Brad, money is going 00:42:57.429 --> 00:43:00.469 to come to you because you will use it. You and 00:43:00.469 --> 00:43:03.789 your wife will use it in honorable ways. Money 00:43:03.789 --> 00:43:06.809 is coming to this place. I want to say fresh 00:43:06.809 --> 00:43:10.030 community is coming to this place day by day. 00:43:10.459 --> 00:43:12.019 tending the temple together. Can I just throw 00:43:12.019 --> 00:43:13.820 a plug in for your marriage seminar? If you're 00:43:13.820 --> 00:43:15.820 married and don't come to that, I know Skip, 00:43:15.920 --> 00:43:18.179 I know what he'll do. everybody's going to be 00:43:18.179 --> 00:43:19.420 talking about it. You're going to be wondering 00:43:19.420 --> 00:43:21.659 what they were talking about because it's like 00:43:21.659 --> 00:43:23.940 good for marriages, but it's a ball listening 00:43:23.940 --> 00:43:25.840 to him speak. That's just there. But going on 00:43:25.840 --> 00:43:28.679 from that community, day by day in the temple, 00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:31.619 breaking bread in their homes, a fresh sense 00:43:31.619 --> 00:43:33.920 of community is going to be coming upon you. 00:43:33.980 --> 00:43:36.559 Number four, a fresh sense of worship. Now you 00:43:36.559 --> 00:43:38.980 already, how could you get fresh worship in this 00:43:38.980 --> 00:43:41.000 place? It's like about as fresh as it can get. 00:43:41.079 --> 00:43:43.519 But you have to realize God is going to be upping 00:43:43.519 --> 00:43:46.260 your level when it comes to outreach, when it 00:43:46.260 --> 00:43:49.059 comes to... nations. Here's what I see. I see 00:43:49.059 --> 00:43:51.480 a river coming in and a river going out. I see 00:43:51.480 --> 00:43:53.400 people coming in here getting trained and people 00:43:53.400 --> 00:43:55.559 going out of here and leaving from this place. 00:43:55.739 --> 00:43:57.599 And it's not like people are coming here and 00:43:57.599 --> 00:43:59.980 they're going to make their home here. It's almost 00:43:59.980 --> 00:44:02.019 like at times I see you guys having people come 00:44:02.019 --> 00:44:04.000 in for weeks or for a summer and they're learning 00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:05.960 things and you're pumping them back out and you're 00:44:05.960 --> 00:44:09.539 having this tremendous global effect. And part 00:44:09.539 --> 00:44:12.139 of and significant to all that you do is going 00:44:12.139 --> 00:44:15.570 to be worship. And lastly, You're going to have 00:44:15.570 --> 00:44:18.469 growth because the Lord is going to add to your 00:44:18.469 --> 00:44:20.869 number daily. I want to tell you, your reach 00:44:20.869 --> 00:44:23.050 around the world over the next 20 years is going 00:44:23.050 --> 00:44:28.750 to be absolutely amazing. And I say this, if 00:44:28.750 --> 00:44:33.650 I could, what began at Hilliard is not forgotten. 00:44:34.630 --> 00:44:37.650 It will find its fulfillment in this place and 00:44:37.650 --> 00:44:41.019 among this people. A prophetic man and woman 00:44:41.019 --> 00:44:45.719 of vision will establish again and again and 00:44:45.719 --> 00:44:48.980 again. True followers will multiply around the 00:44:48.980 --> 00:44:51.860 world daily because of this place. They will 00:44:51.860 --> 00:44:54.719 come to you. They will be sent out by you. You 00:44:54.719 --> 00:44:58.980 will touch nations. Great wealth will be delivered 00:44:58.980 --> 00:45:02.400 to you so you can train others. God will pick 00:45:02.400 --> 00:45:05.539 you up this morning and he will strap you to 00:45:05.539 --> 00:45:08.800 his back and there is a finish line for you and 00:45:08.800 --> 00:45:11.139 God is gonna carry you and I'd do it this morning 00:45:11.139 --> 00:45:13.239 if I could. My wife would yell at me, I'd put 00:45:13.239 --> 00:45:15.260 you on my back and I'd carry you somewhere because 00:45:15.260 --> 00:45:17.639 God is gonna strap you to his back and he's gonna 00:45:17.639 --> 00:45:19.639 carry you to your finish line and you're gonna 00:45:19.639 --> 00:45:21.099 be amazed. When you think, I don't think we're 00:45:21.099 --> 00:45:23.159 gonna get this thing done that God has in my 00:45:23.159 --> 00:45:25.719 heart, I wanna tell you, he'll put you on his 00:45:25.719 --> 00:45:28.079 back and he'll get you to that place. He is so 00:45:28.079 --> 00:45:32.199 firm about this. You are about to have, and I've 00:45:32.199 --> 00:45:35.000 met two of them already, you're about to be influxed 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:37.440 by young people. They're going to surround you. 00:45:37.519 --> 00:45:39.099 They're going to be strong. They're going to 00:45:39.099 --> 00:45:40.719 listen to you. They're going to be coached by 00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:43.559 you. They are going to be great men and women. 00:45:43.639 --> 00:45:46.059 They are going to bear fruit for you. They're 00:45:46.059 --> 00:45:48.820 going to listen to you. This place would seem 00:45:48.820 --> 00:45:56.300 to be a convenient place for people to come and 00:45:56.300 --> 00:45:59.000 worship. But I want to tell you something. It's 00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:00.820 going to be more than that. It's going to become 00:46:00.820 --> 00:46:05.380 a convenient place to lavishly send out and train 00:46:05.380 --> 00:46:08.659 other people. God, make sure I ask him this. 00:46:08.780 --> 00:46:10.400 Can you put like a boat launch down here? You 00:46:10.400 --> 00:46:12.300 can put a boat launch. No, no, no. Reasons, you 00:46:12.300 --> 00:46:15.039 know, why you can't put. But this is what I felt 00:46:15.039 --> 00:46:18.710 like the Lord said. You are a port city. You 00:46:18.710 --> 00:46:21.289 are a port city. From here, God is going to take 00:46:21.289 --> 00:46:24.050 in goods and deliver out goods. I say it again, 00:46:24.190 --> 00:46:28.510 what began in and at Hilliard, you're going to 00:46:28.510 --> 00:46:31.860 finish. Could you put up that last slide? if 00:46:31.860 --> 00:46:35.400 you would for me, if you have that. It's my handwriting 00:46:35.400 --> 00:46:37.320 note that I have up there. Do you see it up there? 00:46:37.400 --> 00:46:39.440 So this is what happened to me. I'm sitting, 00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:42.699 not looking at this text or anything, and I just 00:46:42.699 --> 00:46:44.900 was sitting at my desk, and the Lord started 00:46:44.900 --> 00:46:47.579 speaking to me about this church, and he said, 00:46:47.699 --> 00:46:50.099 I'm bringing fresh devotion, awe, generosity, 00:46:50.500 --> 00:46:52.579 community, worship, growth. I hadn't thought 00:46:52.579 --> 00:46:54.480 about Acts 2 when I'd written that some time 00:46:54.480 --> 00:46:56.239 ago. I hadn't thought about that verse at all, 00:46:56.280 --> 00:46:58.679 and then when I flipped to it, I realized that 00:46:58.679 --> 00:47:02.170 is Acts 2. All of that is fresh because the call 00:47:02.170 --> 00:47:06.190 of God is going to be great in your lives. Can 00:47:06.190 --> 00:47:10.090 I just ask this quick question? Everybody here 00:47:10.090 --> 00:47:13.610 who would just say I've never actually taken 00:47:13.610 --> 00:47:17.309 this step. Like I've received Jesus for the forgiveness 00:47:17.309 --> 00:47:20.230 of my sins but I've not in an official and a 00:47:20.230 --> 00:47:25.369 public way said I want to commit my allegiance 00:47:25.369 --> 00:47:28.789 to Jesus Christ. Completely. I want him to have 00:47:28.789 --> 00:47:32.469 it. Absolutely. I want him to have my all this 00:47:32.469 --> 00:47:35.510 morning. I want him to have it. If you've never, 00:47:35.610 --> 00:47:38.829 that's never happened in your life, I want to 00:47:38.829 --> 00:47:41.230 tell you there's a wonderful anointing here this 00:47:41.230 --> 00:47:43.929 morning to springboard you somewhere. A lot of 00:47:43.929 --> 00:47:45.469 people in church, they've never been to church 00:47:45.469 --> 00:47:47.269 before. Like I've never done that in our area. 00:47:47.269 --> 00:47:49.409 That happens a lot. Sometimes people have been 00:47:49.409 --> 00:47:51.170 to church a long time and all of a sudden they're 00:47:51.170 --> 00:47:52.690 sitting under kind of the word of the Lord. They 00:47:52.690 --> 00:47:54.510 don't care about anything else. All they care 00:47:54.510 --> 00:47:56.269 about just right now is, you know something, 00:47:56.369 --> 00:47:58.090 I've never done that. I've never said, Jesus, 00:47:58.210 --> 00:48:00.230 I want to give you my full heart, my full allegiance 00:48:00.230 --> 00:48:03.320 right now. I want to give you opportunity to 00:48:03.320 --> 00:48:05.960 do that. It's a very simple thing to do. I don't 00:48:05.960 --> 00:48:08.239 have people close their eyes. This is like a 00:48:08.239 --> 00:48:10.320 wonderful thing. This is like a yay thing. This 00:48:10.320 --> 00:48:13.360 is like a glad thing. If that has never happened 00:48:13.360 --> 00:48:15.340 to you and right now you would like to do that, 00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:17.719 would you just raise your hand and say, that's 00:48:17.719 --> 00:48:20.539 me. I'd like to give Jesus my heart, my full 00:48:20.539 --> 00:48:22.460 allegiance. I've never done it, but I'd like 00:48:22.460 --> 00:48:24.639 to do it. Right now. Just raise your hand right 00:48:24.639 --> 00:48:27.539 now if that's you. It can seem difficult in this 00:48:27.539 --> 00:48:30.480 place, but if it's in your heart right now, you'll 00:48:30.480 --> 00:48:32.519 see it'll be a very significant moment for you 00:48:32.519 --> 00:48:38.920 if that's you. Okay. Okay. Come on up here, would 00:48:38.920 --> 00:48:42.820 you? Yeah, come up here. Did you raise your hand? 00:48:43.139 --> 00:48:44.820 Yeah, come on up here. I've got to do this. If 00:48:44.820 --> 00:48:47.400 you raise your hand, come on up here. If you 00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:56.860 don't mind. Just for a moment. I don't know you. 00:48:56.880 --> 00:48:59.880 I ran into you in the prayer room. But I am just 00:48:59.880 --> 00:49:05.900 here to say to you, you are far from over. There 00:49:05.900 --> 00:49:09.000 is going to come a fresh anointing of joy and 00:49:09.000 --> 00:49:13.179 a real humble spirit of gentleness on your life. 00:49:13.380 --> 00:49:16.519 And there are people around you that don't so 00:49:16.519 --> 00:49:18.920 much know Jesus or not connected to him in a 00:49:18.920 --> 00:49:21.579 right way. And the Lord is going to use a fresh, 00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:25.449 gentle touch. and word from your heart and your 00:49:25.449 --> 00:49:28.409 life to turn all of that around. So he saw your 00:49:28.409 --> 00:49:30.230 hand today. I don't know exactly why your hand 00:49:30.230 --> 00:49:32.389 went up. You look pretty committed to Jesus today, 00:49:32.489 --> 00:49:34.869 but you raised your hand, and I'm here to tell 00:49:34.869 --> 00:49:37.389 you that the Lord sees your allegiance, and he's 00:49:37.389 --> 00:49:40.449 going to take you in to a whole new level of 00:49:40.449 --> 00:49:43.329 grace in Jesus' name. Receive. Would you all 00:49:43.329 --> 00:49:45.690 just mind standing up here? Rick, can I just 00:49:45.690 --> 00:49:49.380 say thank you for just... for your heart and 00:49:49.380 --> 00:49:51.920 how you do worship and your care for the Word 00:49:51.920 --> 00:49:54.579 of God. It was just a blessing. Let me just do 00:49:54.579 --> 00:49:57.239 this last thing. You've got a great future in 00:49:57.239 --> 00:49:59.260 store for you if you just raise your hands just 00:49:59.260 --> 00:50:01.400 like this and say, Jesus, we're here as a people 00:50:01.400 --> 00:50:03.940 surrendered to you. We're in a great church. 00:50:04.019 --> 00:50:06.719 We serve a great God. We're following a great 00:50:06.719 --> 00:50:09.559 Jesus. And so, Lord, we surrender our lives to 00:50:09.559 --> 00:50:12.380 you and we're giving this part. We're giving 00:50:12.380 --> 00:50:14.619 this part of this moment to your fixed authority, 00:50:14.739 --> 00:50:18.039 Jesus, for you to rule and reign over us the 00:50:18.039 --> 00:50:22.280 way you want to. May Jesus greatly bless you. 00:50:22.340 --> 00:50:38.519 In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Before I close the 00:50:38.519 --> 00:50:41.199 service, I'd like to have our healing team. Just 00:50:41.199 --> 00:50:43.000 make their way up front, please, right away. 00:50:44.440 --> 00:50:46.800 If you have an issue in your body, you need prayer. 00:50:46.920 --> 00:50:49.619 We have people of faith that believe God. They're 00:50:49.619 --> 00:50:52.360 coming right up here to my left, your right. 00:50:53.440 --> 00:50:56.460 I also want to clarify when Pastor Jess said, 00:50:56.599 --> 00:51:01.420 Hilliard, some of you going, does Harrisburg 00:51:01.420 --> 00:51:08.849 have a Hilliard? And Hilliard Street was... The 00:51:08.849 --> 00:51:11.730 first church location that Pastor Frank and Sharon, 00:51:11.849 --> 00:51:15.070 they met in a motel, they met in the Masonic 00:51:15.070 --> 00:51:17.989 Center, but Hilliard Street was where the church 00:51:17.989 --> 00:51:21.730 was planted and established. And so that's what 00:51:21.730 --> 00:51:24.949 he's referencing to, a spiritual lineage, a DNA. 00:51:25.610 --> 00:51:27.949 So just to kind of reference that for those that 00:51:27.949 --> 00:51:30.710 are kind of brand new. And that's a high honor 00:51:30.710 --> 00:51:41.599 from the Lord. It's a high honor. Great word. 00:51:41.679 --> 00:51:47.340 Thank you. So before I pray for you, just a reminder, 00:51:47.500 --> 00:51:50.780 18 years. And Jess referenced something, and 00:51:50.780 --> 00:51:55.119 I'd be amiss to honor them, but also joke with 00:51:55.119 --> 00:51:57.780 them a little bit as well. We have a great team, 00:51:57.900 --> 00:52:04.119 great elders, great staff. And one of our elders 00:52:04.119 --> 00:52:09.059 has an ice cream anointing. That's Anthony Booker. 00:52:09.059 --> 00:52:11.599 Everywhere I've gone, traveled with him, we find 00:52:11.599 --> 00:52:16.340 ice cream even in the far deserts of India. So 00:52:16.340 --> 00:52:19.739 in honor of 18 years and Anthony Booker, today 00:52:19.739 --> 00:52:22.260 there is vanilla ice cream and fresh berries 00:52:22.260 --> 00:52:26.059 to celebrate 18 years of fruitfulness. Let's 00:52:26.059 --> 00:52:29.079 ask the Lord to bless us today. Jesus, thank 00:52:29.079 --> 00:52:31.820 you so much for your goodness. Thank you for 00:52:31.820 --> 00:52:35.059 your grace. Thank you for 18 years of favor. 00:52:43.849 --> 00:52:47.710 And let fruit remain and be for your glory in 00:52:47.710 --> 00:52:51.829 Jesus' name. And everybody said amen. Amen. Rick, 00:52:51.869 --> 00:53:01.809 come on. If you are interested in hearing other 00:53:01.809 --> 00:53:04.750 podcasts or contacting Life Bible Church, go 00:53:04.750 --> 00:53:09.369 to www .lifebiblechurch .org or call us at 541 00:53:09.369 --> 00:53:11.849 -995 -8282.