WEBVTT 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:17.339 No further ado, I want to let Skip preach the 00:00:17.339 --> 00:00:20.280 word this morning. Skip Rotert from Brazil and 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:22.879 his wife, Debbie, all the way from Brazil. We 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:24.719 love them. Would you just give them a Life Bible 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:26.800 welcome? Just welcome them to the platform this 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:36.100 morning. God bless you guys. Come on up. Good 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:39.969 morning. It is such a pleasure to be here. We 00:00:39.969 --> 00:00:42.770 had an amazing time with the couples, with the 00:00:42.770 --> 00:00:45.469 singles. You guys are just awesome. Love you 00:00:45.469 --> 00:00:48.590 guys. Love your pastors. You have awesome pastors, 00:00:48.689 --> 00:00:52.770 you know. They are very famous all over the world. 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:57.770 And amazing, amazing people. And, man, we really 00:00:57.770 --> 00:01:00.310 feel at home here, you know. It's like it's not 00:01:00.310 --> 00:01:02.570 every place that you go that you feel at home. 00:01:02.649 --> 00:01:04.609 But, you know, it's like. We're ministering in 00:01:04.609 --> 00:01:06.689 Brazil, but we come all the way from Brazil, 00:01:06.709 --> 00:01:09.170 and we feel like, hey, we're at home. We serve 00:01:09.170 --> 00:01:12.930 the same God, don't we? Just amazing. You know, 00:01:13.010 --> 00:01:16.069 I'm a missionary's kid. My parents went down 00:01:16.069 --> 00:01:20.109 to Brazil in the mid-'60s, and so I grew up there, 00:01:20.189 --> 00:01:22.010 and then I came up to Portland Bible College. 00:01:22.329 --> 00:01:24.650 In Portland Bible College, I met this wonderful 00:01:24.650 --> 00:01:29.150 man, and we got married. And then we youth pastored 00:01:29.150 --> 00:01:31.209 in Stockton, California for about three years. 00:01:31.329 --> 00:01:34.310 And then we moved to Brazil 26 years ago. So 00:01:34.310 --> 00:01:37.189 we've been there 26 years. And about 15 years 00:01:37.189 --> 00:01:40.829 ago, we started our own church in a city called 00:01:40.829 --> 00:01:44.189 Joinville in the state of Santa Catarina. So 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:47.650 it's in the southern, southern part of Brazil. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.040 It's been amazing what God's doing. We started 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:55.219 the church in the living room of our home and 00:01:55.219 --> 00:01:57.939 slowly, you know, went to a building, another 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:00.819 building. And now, you know, we have our own 00:02:00.819 --> 00:02:03.120 building that we've been able to purchase and 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:07.299 working on all kinds of things. But the neat 00:02:07.299 --> 00:02:10.139 thing is to see what God's doing and all that 00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:12.840 he's going to do. And we're just so excited. 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.400 It's just an amazing, amazing time. And one thing 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:17.599 I wanted to ask, if you remember us, remember 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:20.139 to pray for us. Pray for our church in Brazil. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:23.360 We believe God has amazing things that he's wanting 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:26.400 to do. We just started a social project in the 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:29.879 neighborhood of our church. connected to a local 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:32.580 school. They're a big local school. So we're 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:34.580 starting to do all kinds of things, teaching 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:37.539 kids, teaching the parents different things, 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:40.400 and trying to reach those kids and those parents 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:42.919 through the social work that we're doing, believing 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:45.180 that not only are they going to get help in the 00:02:45.180 --> 00:02:47.599 natural, but they're going to get the real help, 00:02:47.639 --> 00:02:49.840 which is knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:52.439 Amen? So remember to pray for us. Love being 00:02:52.439 --> 00:03:01.360 here. God bless you guys. Well, we had a good 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:05.439 time this weekend, huh? Oh, my goodness. And 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:12.500 this is our first time here. We were just overcome, 00:03:13.580 --> 00:03:18.300 just even the natural part of the church and 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:21.919 the river and the apartment and everything. We 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:25.599 were almost embarrassed of how well you guys 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:29.379 have taken care of us. It's just been such a 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:32.099 privilege for us to be here. It's interesting, 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:37.740 though. We're church builders, and so we appreciate 00:03:37.740 --> 00:03:42.639 so much a building. One thing that has been very 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:44.939 interesting, even for Debbie and I, we've been 00:03:44.939 --> 00:03:47.460 talking about it so much, is that this building 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:50.439 pales in comparison to the beauty of this congregation 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.360 that you have here, Pastor Brad. Unbelievable. 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:57.919 We felt a connection just from the get -go. It 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.800 has been so enjoyable for us to be here. Just 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:04.319 your friendliness and connection has just been 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:09.280 so, so good. We have been so, so blessed. You 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.150 know, we... You know, your pastors, you probably 00:04:12.150 --> 00:04:14.110 know, you know, they're like Debbie said, they're 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:18.569 just like total famous. And so when we got this 00:04:18.569 --> 00:04:23.790 invite for Life Bible Church, man, I'm telling 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:28.649 you, it was like the fear of whatever just came 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:31.970 into me. It's like, what in the world? I was 00:04:31.970 --> 00:04:35.189 just very, extremely nervous, Drew, very, very 00:04:35.189 --> 00:04:37.810 nervous. And so, you know, just kind of to prepare 00:04:37.810 --> 00:04:41.829 for the time here, you know, We have a lot of 00:04:41.829 --> 00:04:45.970 friends that have been here. And so I just asked 00:04:45.970 --> 00:04:49.370 different people that know Pastor Brad and the 00:04:49.370 --> 00:04:54.790 congregation. And it was like, give me just kind 00:04:54.790 --> 00:04:56.990 of a clue of something maybe I should talk about 00:04:56.990 --> 00:05:01.509 or this and that. And the first person that I 00:05:01.509 --> 00:05:04.949 talked with, they said this. Look, Pastor Brad 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:08.819 is very prophetic. So make sure that you are 00:05:08.819 --> 00:05:11.759 really prophetic. So I'm like, okay, okay, man, 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:13.839 I just praying it fast and I gotta get ready 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:16.300 to prophesy. And I thought, you know, I'm gonna 00:05:16.300 --> 00:05:18.680 ask some other people. And the next person I 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:22.259 asked, they go, Pastor Brad, he teaches so good. 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:25.100 It's so profound. And so I'm like, okay, okay. 00:05:25.180 --> 00:05:29.079 So I have to prophesy and I have to teach. And 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:32.199 then it was like, I ventured out to a third person 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:36.949 and he says, Pastor Brad, He preaches so good. 00:05:36.990 --> 00:05:39.509 He like raises a voice at the right time. So 00:05:39.509 --> 00:05:41.629 now the pressure's on for me. It's like I got 00:05:41.629 --> 00:05:44.310 to prophesy really good. Then I got to teach 00:05:44.310 --> 00:05:46.709 really profound. And then I got to preach really, 00:05:46.810 --> 00:05:50.750 you know, dynamic. And I'm thinking, the first 00:05:50.750 --> 00:05:53.189 thought in my mind was like, I have a solution. 00:05:54.490 --> 00:05:57.209 Instead of preaching, introduce Pastor Brad and 00:05:57.209 --> 00:05:59.449 let him take my place. You know, it's like, that 00:05:59.449 --> 00:06:01.339 was the first thing that came into my mind. The 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:03.240 second thing that came to mind, I know what I'll 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:07.860 do. I will start off talking about something 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:12.300 that in the history of this congregation, Pastor 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:21.000 Brad has never talked about. And it is my family. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:26.139 No. Actually, I forgot. I forgot this is my family. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:30.350 Debbie. Debbie made sure to tell me to make sure 00:06:30.350 --> 00:06:36.829 and show my family because she wanted to do that. 00:06:36.910 --> 00:06:40.230 Okay, so he has never talked about our family, 00:06:40.290 --> 00:06:44.649 and has he ever started a sermon talking about 00:06:44.649 --> 00:06:49.350 a parakeet? Ever? All right. So now I feel comfortable 00:06:49.350 --> 00:06:55.759 because I cannot be compared, okay? How many 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:59.199 of you have had a parakeet in your life? Okay, 00:06:59.259 --> 00:07:01.620 how many of you guys like kind of birds and that 00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:04.899 kind of stuff? And when I was younger, I was 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:08.240 probably in junior high school, and I really 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:10.920 wanted a parakeet. And this is the kind of parakeet 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:14.980 that I wanted. I wanted one. I just kind of wanted 00:07:14.980 --> 00:07:18.459 a bird that would just like show me. kind of 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:22.040 love and would eat out of my hand and would just 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.779 sit on my shoulder and do all that, right? And 00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:30.459 so I had this, I don't know if you could call 00:07:30.459 --> 00:07:34.600 wanting a parakeet a dream, but I had this kind 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:37.339 of dream, this goal or whatever, however you 00:07:37.339 --> 00:07:41.379 say it, of having this really amazing parakeet 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:44.290 in my life. And my family, especially when we 00:07:44.290 --> 00:07:47.970 were younger, we were very, just financially 00:07:47.970 --> 00:07:54.069 a little bit tight. And it was coming close to 00:07:54.069 --> 00:07:57.350 my birthday. And my parents is like, they just 00:07:57.350 --> 00:07:59.290 kind of wanted to take all the mystery out of 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:01.230 a birthday present. So they would ask, what do 00:08:01.230 --> 00:08:04.529 you want for your birthday? And so I said, look, 00:08:04.610 --> 00:08:10.120 this year I want a parakeet. Okay? I want a parakeet. 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:12.759 Is that all right? And they said, yes, you can 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:15.899 have a bird. And you know the thing parents do. 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:18.740 They can't say that's what I'm getting you, but 00:08:18.740 --> 00:08:20.360 you know that's probably what they're getting 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:23.000 you. And if they don't, you'll need inner healing 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:24.939 sessions the rest of your life. You know, kind 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:30.129 of like that kind of thing, you know? So I had 00:08:30.129 --> 00:08:34.690 this vision of what I wanted. I wanted this parakeet 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:38.049 that kind of, you know, like this, that was gentle 00:08:38.049 --> 00:08:42.070 and nice and loved me and I loved it and all 00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:44.610 that. And my birthday was about 10 days away. 00:08:46.470 --> 00:08:50.309 And I had a best friend across the street from 00:08:50.309 --> 00:08:53.940 my house, Jimmy Smith. Now Jimmy Smith, man, 00:08:53.980 --> 00:08:58.399 he was just a nice guy for me. He always treated 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:02.419 me nice. And Jimmy, he always bought new things 00:09:02.419 --> 00:09:05.080 and then he kind of got tired of the new things 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:07.200 and then he got rid of them and he got other 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:14.019 things. And Jimmy had two parakeets and a cage. 00:09:15.750 --> 00:09:18.250 Because I was asking for a parakeet. I don't 00:09:18.250 --> 00:09:19.809 know where I was going to put it. But, you know, 00:09:19.850 --> 00:09:24.129 it was like. And Jimmy came to me and he goes, 00:09:24.169 --> 00:09:27.149 look, I don't want my parakeets anymore. I know 00:09:27.149 --> 00:09:31.450 you like parakeets. I will sell you my two parakeets 00:09:31.450 --> 00:09:35.870 and the cage for $10. Which was awesome because 00:09:35.870 --> 00:09:39.679 I had $10. And I mean, I don't know how much 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:42.980 cages, I don't live here in the States, but I 00:09:42.980 --> 00:09:45.799 assume pretty expensive. It was kind of big. 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:50.559 It was really tall. It just was perfect. And 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:54.879 as everything that is perfect like that, we say 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.840 glory to God. Thank you for your confirmation. 00:09:57.659 --> 00:10:01.940 Because we know that the Holy Spirit is in it 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:07.460 when it's a good deal, right? I mean, I'm sure 00:10:07.460 --> 00:10:09.720 in the Message Bible it says something like that, 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:18.360 you know? And so it's like, I got confirmation 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:23.639 from the Lord. I'm excited because it's like 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:26.299 he knew. It was just like the testimonies at 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:30.539 church. He knew I had $10, and Jimmy Smith offered 00:10:30.539 --> 00:10:35.649 it for $10. And so I go to my mom. who she kind 00:10:35.649 --> 00:10:39.269 of controlled birthday present stuff in our family. 00:10:40.250 --> 00:10:45.009 And I said, Mom, Jimmy offered me two parakeets 00:10:45.009 --> 00:10:49.230 and a cage for $10. I know it's 10 days before 00:10:49.230 --> 00:10:51.450 my birthday, and I know I asked for a parakeet, 00:10:51.470 --> 00:10:54.750 but can I buy that instead, and you guys give 00:10:54.750 --> 00:11:00.570 me a different present? And my mom did the cruelest 00:11:00.570 --> 00:11:03.710 thing possible that a parent can do. My mom said, 00:11:04.330 --> 00:11:09.309 Are you sure? Oh, I hated that. Like, give me 00:11:09.309 --> 00:11:14.210 a yes or no, but don't go, are you sure? Because 00:11:14.210 --> 00:11:16.669 then I was like, I didn't know if I was sure. 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:19.250 I was pretty sure that I was sure. You ever be 00:11:19.250 --> 00:11:20.750 in that spot where you're pretty sure you're 00:11:20.750 --> 00:11:24.669 sure, but you're not sure? And so that's where 00:11:24.669 --> 00:11:26.870 I was at, and I was like, and I didn't quite 00:11:26.870 --> 00:11:29.259 know how to. And then I'm thinking about it. 00:11:29.299 --> 00:11:31.639 Okay, 10 bucks, man, 10 bucks. Instead of getting 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:33.559 one bird, I'm getting two. That's a blessing 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:38.220 of the Lord. Confirmation, $10. I'm sure. And 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:44.340 she said a second time, are you sure? Oh, man, 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:49.299 I didn't like that. But, you know, the devil 00:11:49.299 --> 00:11:51.360 tempts us sometimes, and we have to stay strong. 00:11:52.169 --> 00:11:55.929 And so I stayed very strong with my resolve. 00:11:56.350 --> 00:11:59.269 And I said, Mom, and by that time, I am sure 00:11:59.269 --> 00:12:01.149 that I'm sure. And I'm saying, I'm sure. And 00:12:01.149 --> 00:12:04.990 she goes, okay. Man, I hate it when they talk 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:10.309 that way. Okay. And so I went and I paid the 00:12:10.309 --> 00:12:13.250 $10. And this is like awesome, too, because it's 00:12:13.250 --> 00:12:15.509 like instead of having to wait 10 days, man, 00:12:15.529 --> 00:12:17.720 when you're a kid, that's like. like dog years 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:20.679 or something. That's like 70 years or something, 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.200 you know? So 10 days, I got my two parakeets. 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:26.759 It was awesome. I had a place in my bedroom for 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:31.500 it. And I put my finger in there to kind of create 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:36.100 this, you know, get them to know me. And that 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:40.779 bird bit me so hard, blood gushed from my finger. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:46.080 Your pastor, you know, he knows the Bible better 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:49.000 than me, and I don't know the full doctrinal 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.299 thing, but I think that parakeet was demon -possessed. 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:58.159 I'm not preaching doctrine, but you can ask your 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:00.679 pastor later and kind of discuss it theologically. 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:04.500 If a parakeet can be demon -possessed, but if 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:07.600 there was, if it was possible, this parakeet 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.460 was the most horrible animal on the face of the 00:13:10.460 --> 00:13:19.200 planet, okay? After my birthday came and went 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:26.379 and after I sold those horrendous beasts for 00:13:26.379 --> 00:13:36.440 $5 for a friend of mine, my mom put salt in the 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:39.320 wound and she sat me down and she said this. 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:44.929 She said, I want you to know something. It's 00:13:44.929 --> 00:13:48.470 okay what you did. Totally okay. It's your decision. 00:13:48.610 --> 00:13:52.649 It's your room, your birds. It's your decision. 00:13:52.830 --> 00:13:54.629 But I just wanted to let you know something. 00:13:55.789 --> 00:13:58.029 Your dad and I, because we knew you wanted a 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:04.009 parakeet, we had gone to a breeder. And anybody 00:14:04.009 --> 00:14:05.990 that understands birds and stuff, if you get 00:14:05.990 --> 00:14:08.429 a bird really young, they just kind of bond to 00:14:08.429 --> 00:14:14.100 you, and it's very easy to have... a bird that 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:16.659 does this kind of stuff. And they said, we'd 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:20.759 gone to a breeder and he asked me the day that 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:24.179 we needed to pick it up. And he had several options. 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:27.059 And one option was that he would have a bird 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:29.580 that was fully weaned on the very day of my birthday. 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:37.379 And he had the perfect parakeet for me. And I 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:41.259 don't mean to say this to hurt your feelings. 00:14:41.859 --> 00:14:45.019 Parents always say that, but it does, right? 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:49.539 And then I'm going through these things in my 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:53.019 head, and I'm thinking, my mom knew this information, 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:58.779 right, before, didn't she? Yes, she did. So I 00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:02.539 felt like it was almost unfair. It's funny how 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:06.080 we just go into the victim, right? It was unfair 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:11.840 of her. It was unfair treatment. She knew. what 00:15:11.840 --> 00:15:13.860 I could have had, and she did not give me that 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:20.019 full information. And I had like two questions 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:23.659 that I just kind of want to start off. I'm just 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:26.000 going to go like that, and then you guys switch 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:30.519 the slide when it's, there we go. The first question 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:36.600 I had was, why didn't I just wait 10 days? Why 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:39.740 didn't I just wait? And the other question, which 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:42.450 is even more, When I go like that, that's the 00:15:42.450 --> 00:15:47.129 next slide. There you go. Why did I settle? Why 00:15:47.129 --> 00:15:54.090 did I settle? Why do we settle for less when 00:15:54.090 --> 00:15:57.370 more is our destiny? That's what I want to talk 00:15:57.370 --> 00:16:01.009 about today. Why do we settle for less when more 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:05.799 is our destiny? If there's a name. For this, 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.019 I'm just kidding with you. Don't make those guys 00:16:09.019 --> 00:16:11.080 mad. They can make your life really bad. Almost 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:16.220 as bad as a sound guy, you know? It's like, everybody's 00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:18.240 against me today, Pastor Brad. I don't understand. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:22.399 No, I'm just kidding. If we were made for more, 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:24.580 then why do we settle for less? And then I'm 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:26.899 going to use this verse, and we'll get into that. 00:16:32.809 --> 00:16:38.090 We all know this story. Moses, Red Sea, Dead 00:16:38.090 --> 00:16:43.789 Sea, the water. Everybody's walking through on 00:16:43.789 --> 00:16:47.730 dry ground, like unbelievable miracles happening, 00:16:47.970 --> 00:16:50.350 right? It's so interesting. When we read the 00:16:50.350 --> 00:16:52.950 Bible, we see the miracles and the miracles happening, 00:16:53.090 --> 00:16:56.990 and it's like, wow, you know, if I was there, 00:16:57.049 --> 00:17:00.179 I would have more faith. And so what happened 00:17:00.179 --> 00:17:03.379 is they go through on dry ground. They see the 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:08.299 land. They send the 12 spies in. 10 of the spies 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:11.740 come back. And they say, you know what? It's 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:16.119 really amazing there. But there's giants and 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:18.539 there's really some big people and some really 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:22.819 walled cities. And I think that we should settle 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:28.359 for less. And it's really interesting. You know, 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:30.279 Israel did all kinds of bad things all the time. 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:35.299 Sometimes it's amazing that God had so much patience 00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:40.819 with them. But on this day, when they brought 00:17:40.819 --> 00:17:44.220 back a bad report, it says, the Bible says, the 00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:49.640 Lord's anger burned. And what he did is he condemned 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:58.150 them, a whole generation, to die. This is the 00:17:58.150 --> 00:18:00.769 map. This is where Egypt and Israel is in a map. 00:18:04.650 --> 00:18:11.890 This is a blow -up of that spot. This is even 00:18:11.890 --> 00:18:15.950 funner than a clicker. And the trip should have 00:18:15.950 --> 00:18:23.250 taken 11 days. 11 days. It became the longest 00:18:23.250 --> 00:18:25.829 funeral march in history with an entire generation 00:18:25.829 --> 00:18:30.069 dying. If you do the math, it's 1 .2 million 00:18:30.069 --> 00:18:33.349 people dying would average about 85 people a 00:18:33.349 --> 00:18:41.269 day for 40 years. Imagine seeing death over and 00:18:41.269 --> 00:18:43.950 over every single day until the very last except 00:18:43.950 --> 00:18:53.569 for two died because they settled for less. It's 00:18:53.569 --> 00:18:55.670 interesting in Exodus 14, it says as Pharaoh 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:57.509 approached, the Israelites looked up and they 00:18:57.509 --> 00:19:00.750 saw the Egyptians marching after them. They were 00:19:00.750 --> 00:19:03.950 terrified as we all would be. They said to Moses, 00:19:04.150 --> 00:19:06.289 what have you done to us by bringing us out of 00:19:06.289 --> 00:19:08.589 Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, leave us 00:19:08.589 --> 00:19:11.589 alone, let us serve the Egyptians? It would have 00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:15.230 been better for us to serve the Egyptians than 00:19:15.230 --> 00:19:19.079 to die in the desert. The first point that I 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:22.000 have, I have four points. Shortsightedness will 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.299 always make us be content with less than the 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:28.609 promise. We were born with a purpose. We were 00:19:28.609 --> 00:19:32.509 born with a promise. God wants us to fulfill 00:19:32.509 --> 00:19:35.950 that promise and that destiny that we have 100 00:19:35.950 --> 00:19:39.430 % in our life. What is interesting is his part 00:19:39.430 --> 00:19:42.369 is that you fulfill that. He has those things 00:19:42.369 --> 00:19:46.509 waiting for you. But our part and something that 00:19:46.509 --> 00:19:50.630 we will always deal with is, will I settle for 00:19:50.630 --> 00:19:57.670 less? Excellent. The passage of the promise is 00:19:57.670 --> 00:19:59.730 always uncomfortable. If it doesn't challenge 00:19:59.730 --> 00:20:02.450 you, it won't change you. So what I did is I 00:20:02.450 --> 00:20:05.470 kind of made this thing where we're in our comfort 00:20:05.470 --> 00:20:08.849 zone. And it's really interesting, people in 00:20:08.849 --> 00:20:12.809 their comfort zone. I put Exodus 14 here. Didn't 00:20:12.809 --> 00:20:16.240 we say to you in Egypt... Leave us alone. Let 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:19.519 us serve the Egyptians. What happens to us when 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.519 we're underneath slavery that we say to somebody 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:26.660 that wants to deliver us to say, no, I don't 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:30.880 want to be delivered. I want to stay where it's 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.859 comfortable, even though we know where it's comfortable 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:38.680 is not comfortable. It's very interesting. So 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:41.039 this is where we are, and I don't know where 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:43.200 we get this as Christians. We just keep thinking 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:45.599 that God's direction is the most comfortable. 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:47.220 There's two choices. One's more comfortable. 00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:49.359 It's always God's will, right, that we choose 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.240 the most comfortable, right? It's like that's 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:54.599 God's will for our life. Be comfortable. I don't 00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:56.779 know where that says that, but, you know, we 00:20:56.779 --> 00:21:01.089 get that thing. God's purpose for our life is 00:21:01.089 --> 00:21:04.509 his promise for our life, our destiny, and he 00:21:04.509 --> 00:21:07.569 wants us and he is cheering for us to do that. 00:21:07.930 --> 00:21:10.109 So we come to the end of our comfort zone, and 00:21:10.109 --> 00:21:12.710 to get to that promise, we've got to go through 00:21:12.710 --> 00:21:14.690 that red zone right there, the uncomfortable. 00:21:16.309 --> 00:21:19.970 So what happens? We move into the uncomfortable. 00:21:20.109 --> 00:21:22.769 What happens is this. When we're in our comfort 00:21:22.769 --> 00:21:26.630 zone, we're not built yet. To be able to support 00:21:26.630 --> 00:21:30.109 all the things that the promise has for us. Our 00:21:30.109 --> 00:21:34.009 character cannot take us and we can't keep it 00:21:34.009 --> 00:21:36.470 with the current character that we have. So what 00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:38.710 we have to do is we go through the, God takes 00:21:38.710 --> 00:21:41.430 us to the uncomfortable. And I wrote here, all 00:21:41.430 --> 00:21:44.430 growth and change that must happen in us so that 00:21:44.430 --> 00:21:47.869 we can handle the promise happens here. So finds 00:21:47.869 --> 00:21:50.289 a way to move forward. It's a really interesting 00:21:50.289 --> 00:21:53.150 verse. It says, the Lord said to Moses, why are 00:21:53.150 --> 00:21:57.180 you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to 00:21:57.180 --> 00:22:00.559 move forward. There's a time for crying out to 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:05.140 him, but there is a time to move forward. What's 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:07.640 really interesting, though, is when you don't 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.019 want to move forward. So we'll just put a little 00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:12.680 X right there. We don't want to move forward. 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:17.119 What happens is that's really complicated for 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:21.299 us because if I don't want to move forward, it 00:22:21.299 --> 00:22:25.609 looks bad for me. So whenever I have destiny 00:22:25.609 --> 00:22:27.750 and promise and I don't want to move forward, 00:22:27.849 --> 00:22:31.029 I have a solution. And this solution, we all 00:22:31.029 --> 00:22:34.569 know how to do it. We find someone to blame. 00:22:37.089 --> 00:22:40.309 So what's going to happen is if we stay the course 00:22:40.309 --> 00:22:43.069 and we go and I, Lord, I want all my destiny. 00:22:43.170 --> 00:22:45.509 I want all the promise. I want all that you have. 00:22:45.650 --> 00:22:48.170 I am not going to settle. What ends up happening 00:22:48.170 --> 00:22:50.910 is those kind of people don't blame other people. 00:22:51.630 --> 00:22:54.289 Those people don't have time to blame other people 00:22:54.289 --> 00:22:57.089 because they're walking forward. But when we 00:22:57.089 --> 00:23:00.930 don't, we got to do something. So they said to 00:23:00.930 --> 00:23:04.269 Moses, was it because there was no graves in 00:23:04.269 --> 00:23:06.569 Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? 00:23:07.150 --> 00:23:11.089 What have you done to us by bringing us out of 00:23:11.089 --> 00:23:15.589 Egypt and making us go to our promise? Can I 00:23:15.589 --> 00:23:21.170 finish that phrase? Next slide. So this is what 00:23:21.170 --> 00:23:25.849 happened. Okay, this is not step by step, but 00:23:25.849 --> 00:23:28.750 in the Hebrew, I think that's the picture that's 00:23:28.750 --> 00:23:33.369 in the Hebrew. Okay, next one. All right. So 00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:36.869 what happens is they're gonna go in. So the old 00:23:36.869 --> 00:23:39.410 generation dies. New generation's ready to go 00:23:39.410 --> 00:23:43.569 in, right? And so to get to the Jordan River, 00:23:44.250 --> 00:23:47.190 to go into the promise. Like, there's people 00:23:47.190 --> 00:23:49.150 living there, and so God's got to give them some 00:23:49.150 --> 00:23:51.549 victory, right? So they have these battles and 00:23:51.549 --> 00:23:54.089 stuff, and they kind of move into this, the brown 00:23:54.089 --> 00:23:57.250 area right there. So they had some battles and 00:23:57.250 --> 00:24:01.269 stuff, and won those battles. Now, they're on 00:24:01.269 --> 00:24:03.049 the river, they can see the promise, it's on 00:24:03.049 --> 00:24:06.210 the other side of the river, and this so interesting 00:24:06.210 --> 00:24:09.269 verse says this. The Reubenites and Gadites, 00:24:09.369 --> 00:24:11.029 now these are the good guys, these are Israelites. 00:24:11.710 --> 00:24:14.109 who had very large herds and flocks, saw that 00:24:14.109 --> 00:24:16.190 the lands of Jazar and Gilead, the brown part, 00:24:16.430 --> 00:24:18.470 were suitable for livestock. So they came to 00:24:18.470 --> 00:24:21.470 Moses and they said, the land the Lord subdued 00:24:21.470 --> 00:24:23.970 before the people of Israel, hallelujah, it is 00:24:23.970 --> 00:24:28.950 confirmation, are suitable for livestock and 00:24:28.950 --> 00:24:35.430 your servants have livestock. Confirmation. If 00:24:35.430 --> 00:24:37.549 we have found favor in your eyes, they said, 00:24:37.670 --> 00:24:40.069 let this land be given to your servants, this 00:24:40.069 --> 00:24:45.160 beautiful land, amazing land, amazing building, 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:53.980 amazing place, but do not make us cross the Jordan. 00:24:55.099 --> 00:25:01.039 Isn't that interesting? Can I, if I, if I, if 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:07.480 God ever called me to write the Bible, I would 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:09.539 just change that a little bit and it'd mean the 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:14.230 same thing. Please, do not step into our full 00:25:14.230 --> 00:25:16.789 promise. Don't make us step into our full promise. 00:25:17.369 --> 00:25:25.990 Please. You know why? Here is good. Those words 00:25:25.990 --> 00:25:31.730 are ungodly words. Settling for less than the 00:25:31.730 --> 00:25:36.109 promise. So that's how they ended up getting 00:25:36.109 --> 00:25:39.880 divided. When the enemies came, those were the 00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:41.759 first ones that went into captivity. There was 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:45.440 all kinds of problems. Don't need to go. Number 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:49.220 two, blessings can make us be content with less 00:25:49.220 --> 00:25:52.859 than the promise. We had some friends in our 00:25:52.859 --> 00:25:55.859 church in California. They were really having 00:25:55.859 --> 00:25:58.960 struggles financially. They had all kinds of 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:02.319 problems, and God started blessing them. And 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:03.859 they always kind of wanted to do water sports, 00:26:03.960 --> 00:26:06.140 and they ended up being able to buy two jet skis. 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.660 And everybody knows the best time to drive your 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:14.579 jet ski is on Sunday morning. And we almost never 00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:17.940 saw them in church again. The blessing, they 00:26:17.940 --> 00:26:20.440 were satisfied with the blessing, but they weren't 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:24.880 going towards the promise. Selective memory always 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.740 makes us be content with the promise. So the 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:30.099 Israelites, in Numbers 11, the Israelites themselves 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:32.700 began to complain, if only we could have some 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:36.160 meat. If I could make a T -shirt, that's what 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:37.900 I would say. If only I could have some meat. 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:45.859 We remember the fish and ate in Egypt and it 00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:48.099 cost us nothing. Interesting how we forget how 00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:53.210 much things cost when we settle. If you're a 00:26:53.210 --> 00:26:55.609 vegetarian, I'm trying not to judge you, okay? 00:26:55.690 --> 00:26:59.109 So it's like God loves vegetarians too because 00:26:59.109 --> 00:27:01.589 he obviously included this part. And we all have 00:27:01.589 --> 00:27:03.670 the cucumbers, melon, leeks, and onions and garlic 00:27:03.670 --> 00:27:06.410 that we ever wanted. So you are included in the 00:27:06.410 --> 00:27:09.650 word of God. So that's all I got to say about 00:27:09.650 --> 00:27:12.690 that. I put this, it's kind of heavy. I don't 00:27:12.690 --> 00:27:15.450 mean to be heavy. I'm going to jump. I've seen 00:27:15.450 --> 00:27:19.289 young people dating guys that treat them wrong. 00:27:20.769 --> 00:27:23.369 And you know, Pastor, you don't know. He treats 00:27:23.369 --> 00:27:26.069 me nice most of the time and this and that. And 00:27:26.069 --> 00:27:29.769 it's like, you know what? If that's a dating 00:27:29.769 --> 00:27:33.769 relationship right there, she's settling. Can't 00:27:33.769 --> 00:27:40.289 go into that. Next. Instant gratification can 00:27:40.289 --> 00:27:43.130 make us be content with less than the promise. 00:27:44.970 --> 00:27:48.769 Let me just show this quick video. Quick video, 00:27:48.809 --> 00:27:51.099 three -minute video. Have any of you seen the 00:27:51.099 --> 00:27:53.680 marshmallow test? What they did is in the 70s, 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:56.039 they did a test with these kids. They brought 00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:57.700 them in and they said, look, I'm going to give 00:27:57.700 --> 00:27:59.980 you a marshmallow. With this marshmallow, you 00:27:59.980 --> 00:28:03.359 can eat it. Or if you wait to eat it, I will 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:05.579 give you two marshmallows. It was 10 minutes 00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:07.319 that they were going to have to wait. And they 00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:09.619 filmed it. So I'm going to show you this quick. 00:28:09.859 --> 00:28:13.420 It's a three -minute video. Let me ask you this 00:28:13.420 --> 00:28:15.160 kind of hard question. What's your marshmallow? 00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:22.660 You know, if you're single, you know, there's 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:27.220 so many marshmallows that tempt us. But there's 00:28:27.220 --> 00:28:31.099 amazing things when we wait and do things in 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:36.700 the timing of the Lord. Just like that story 00:28:36.700 --> 00:28:38.440 of the parakeets, you know, it's a crazy little 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:41.039 story, this and that. God has amazing things 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:45.220 for all of us. And we have to be careful of settling. 00:28:46.829 --> 00:28:49.190 There's an interesting Bible verse that talks 00:28:49.190 --> 00:28:51.730 about Esau. Go ahead and go to the next one. 00:28:53.509 --> 00:28:56.250 In Hebrews 12, it says this, looking carefully, 00:28:56.369 --> 00:29:01.170 lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, like 00:29:01.170 --> 00:29:05.589 Esau, who sold his future blessing for only one 00:29:05.589 --> 00:29:14.390 meal. Sometimes we do this. But there's... Another 00:29:14.390 --> 00:29:16.809 verse that is just phenomenal that I just love 00:29:16.809 --> 00:29:19.849 so much. 2 Corinthians says this, now the one 00:29:19.849 --> 00:29:22.589 who prepared us for this very purpose, our purpose 00:29:22.589 --> 00:29:27.210 in God and our promise, so that we'll never settle 00:29:27.210 --> 00:29:30.910 for less. Isn't that beautiful? Can I just ask 00:29:30.910 --> 00:29:39.470 you to stand up this morning? When I was young, 00:29:39.589 --> 00:29:45.450 back in the day, There was this thing, I don't 00:29:45.450 --> 00:29:46.730 know, I just kind of went through it. It was 00:29:46.730 --> 00:29:50.990 like, are you a love child? And anybody remember 00:29:50.990 --> 00:29:53.410 that phrase back in a long time ago? It was like, 00:29:53.450 --> 00:29:56.910 what a love child was is that your parents said, 00:29:57.009 --> 00:29:58.789 looked at each other and they said, let's have 00:29:58.789 --> 00:30:03.410 a baby and then you were born. The alternative 00:30:03.410 --> 00:30:08.509 was that you were not a love child and you were 00:30:08.509 --> 00:30:11.569 an accident. or you were unwanted, or who knows 00:30:11.569 --> 00:30:13.829 what the list, the list was everything else. 00:30:14.269 --> 00:30:16.769 And so I remember going home to my parents, I 00:30:16.769 --> 00:30:21.210 was really young, and I asked my parents, my 00:30:21.210 --> 00:30:27.430 mom, and I said, Mom, am I a love child? Was 00:30:27.430 --> 00:30:31.789 I a love child? And she's like, are you kidding? 00:30:31.910 --> 00:30:39.420 You were like a mistake. It's playful. It didn't 00:30:39.420 --> 00:30:41.819 hurt me at all. Like, it wasn't a hurtful thing. 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:44.220 It was like, you were a mistake, but she kept 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:47.440 going. But one of the greatest mistakes we ever 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:53.440 made. And she affirmed me. And then my mom said, 00:30:53.640 --> 00:30:57.740 very interesting. She said, your sister is a 00:30:57.740 --> 00:30:59.680 mistake, too. Like, my younger sister, I knew 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:03.660 she was a mistake, that's for sure. Who has a 00:31:03.660 --> 00:31:05.720 younger sister that can say, yeah, amen to that 00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:08.859 one? It was very interesting in the makeup of 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:15.019 my family. The only child that was planned was 00:31:15.019 --> 00:31:19.640 my older sister, who was borderline retarded 00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:28.180 and had huge problems physically. I say that 00:31:28.180 --> 00:31:33.400 for this reason. You know what? It's not your 00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:35.799 parents that planned whether you were born. It 00:31:35.799 --> 00:31:40.539 was God. And I'm telling you, I wasn't planned. 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:43.660 My parents tried to abort me and I feel rejected. 00:31:44.259 --> 00:31:47.039 The devil's getting happy that you're feeling 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:48.980 rejected because you are not looking at your 00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:50.819 promise because you are looking at your past. 00:31:51.720 --> 00:31:54.980 Quit looking at your past. Quit settling for 00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:57.559 your present and look to your promise. Let's 00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:00.559 fulfill 100 % of our destiny in God. Father, 00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:02.480 I pray in the name of Jesus for every single 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:05.900 person here. Thank you for them. You have called 00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:10.750 us for a purpose. You have a promise 100 % for 00:32:10.750 --> 00:32:14.250 us in our life. I pray, Father, help us to never 00:32:14.250 --> 00:32:17.329 settle for less than everything that you have 00:32:17.329 --> 00:32:21.529 for us. Help us to hear you speak clearly. And 00:32:21.529 --> 00:32:25.250 Father, help us to never settle for less the 00:32:25.250 --> 00:32:27.950 rest of our days. Thank you for this church in 00:32:27.950 --> 00:32:40.670 your precious name. Amen. interested in hearing 00:32:40.670 --> 00:32:43.349 other podcasts or contacting Life Bible Church 00:32:43.349 --> 00:32:47.990 go to www .lifebiblechurch .org or call us at 00:32:47.990 --> 00:32:50.990 541 -995 -8282